It's gonna be me
by Whorphine.Daffodildo
Summary: Zabuza is hired as a bodyguard to a wealthy family's crossdressing son, Haku. At first he thinks the job will be a piece of cake, but there are secrets and secret feelings bubbling under the surface; Zabuza x Haku, other pairings. . . Yaoi lemons! Frequently updating again
1. Sonshine

**I just couldn't stand there not being enough Zabuza x Haku fics on here (especially since I've only contributed a oneshot so far) so I decided to start this, although I'd be surprised if anyone reads it xD It's going to be one totally AU (alternate universe), whacked out, not-making-sense jumble of sentences to sate my creative mind. Anyway, if you DO read it, I beseech you to review. It's the only way I'll get better as a writer, and if you actually LIKE the story, it's the only way I'll update. Happy reading! :) **

**Also; Just a quick note, Haku's last name is never mentioned in the show or manga. So for the purposes of this fic, his family name will Hoshigaki, which is Kisame's last name. And Haku's parents are original characters, but they probably won't be too involved in the story.**

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The large man shifted, slightly uncomfortable in the pristine room the butler had suggested he wait in. The furniture was all blindingly white and spotlessly clean, not a speck of dust on any of the elegant knick-knacks placed around the room. He glanced down at his boots, which he were sure had dirt on the bottom of them. He frowned, telling himself that's what the maids get paid for. And he was sure they got paid quite a lot, glancing around at the huge room. He had lived in houses smaller than just this parlor.

His boss had sent him here to this address, informing him that an extremely loyal client needed a personal bodyguard for one of his sons. The job would require nearly constant attention, and would probably be a bit longer than most temporary services. Zabuza had nearly scoffed at the man, Gatou, before he had spoken again. "This job is not as easy as it sounds, Momochi." He had promised. "The Hoshigaki family is heavily involved in politics, scandals, and dark secrets." He chuckled a moment before adding, "Lots of reasons for one of their brats to get slaughtered."

"Brats?" Zabuza repeated, emphasizing the last letter.

"Yeah, plural. Let's see. . ." He trailed off, opening a plain manila folder which Zabuza assumed to be a dossier on the family. Holding a sheet of paper between his fat fingers, skimming down it quickly, he spoke again. "1 adult son, and 2 teenage sons. An extremely wealthy family. That's all." He said, tucking the paper back into the folder and shoving it toward the swordsman, who took it, glaring at his boss.

"And just how many of these sons am I supposed to be guarding?" He asked gruffly.

"Just one." Gatou answered without missing a beat. He adjusted his grossly undersized glasses before lowerng them to peer at the tall, well-built man. "Think you can handle it?" He said mockingly.

"What, playing monkey-boy to a rich, spoiled teenager?" He growled. "I think I've handled a lot more difficult before."

"Which is precisely why I told Jaken Hoshigaki that you would be happy to take the job. You are by far the most qualified of any of my employees to take this on."

"Is it really necessary to have the most qualified of your employees taking on such a meager mission?"

"I thought I already told you, Momochi. This mission is not as simple as it is portrayed to be. You will need to be alert at all times. Diligence is key." He paused, then went on. "And the Hoshigakis are quite wealthy. Both you and I will be getting paid substantially for this job."

"Right." Zabuza said quietly.

"And Jaken has requested a meeting with you, this afternoon. You'll find the address of their manor in the contents on that folder. Don't fuck this up, Momochi."

"Have I ever fucked anything up?" He snapped, pushing open the door and closing it loudly without waiting for an answer. He stalked out of the building, rummaging through the various papers of information until he found the one with what he wanted: the address.

So here he was, in the enormous mansion, waiting for some rich old man to introduce him to his snotty son whom he would be pretty much responsible for 24 hours of the day. Great. He couldn't think of a better way to spend his next few months. His head raised, looking up at someone when he heard footsteps coming towards him. The man he saw looked to be about his age, definitely not the son he was being assigned to.

"Hi." The man said good-naturedly, grinning. Zabuza noticed with slight interest that his teeth were oddly pointed.

"Good afternoon." He answered.

"Zabuza, is it?" He asked, and the bodyguard nodded. "Name's Kisame." He held out a hand for a firm handshake. "Listen, my dad knows you're here, and he just finished up what he was doing, so just go and head on up to his office."

"Which is. . .?" Zabuza glanced into the next room, which held two marble staircases, on opposite sides of the room, each with a matching cherrywood banister, but they seemed to head into different wings of the house.

"Just go up the left one, and keep walking down the hallway. His door should be open, and the other ones will probably be closed."

"What does the other stairs lead to?" Zabuza found himself asking, though he didn't know why. He wasn't normally interested in trivial things like stairways, but he had never seen such an elaborate place before.

"Er. Mine and my younger brothers' bedrooms, along with a library, 2 bathrooms, that sort of thing." He answered, walking toward the door. "Anyway, good luck." He called, closing the front door behind him. Zabuza supposed he was going out. He exhaled, walking through the similarly clean room. He stopped, muscles tensing when he heard quick footsteps. Someone bounding down the stairs. He nearly rolled his eyes, relaxing after a moment, reminding himself he was no longer in the streets, where a gun or a knife could be aimed at him from every side. He waited a moment as a younger blonde boy burst down the stairs, using the banister to whip around the side as quick as he could.

"Ah!" He cried out as he ran directly into Zabuza's tough chest, knocking him backwards onto the hardwood floors, his eyes wide. Zabuza, however, didn't move, even at the boy's full weight slammed onto him at full speed. "Oh. Sorry, un." The boy said, raising himself up to a standing position slowly, looking a little sheepish, tucking his hands into the black hoodie he wore. The man noticed that the boy's eyes seemed to be lined with dark make-up, giving him a slightly strange appearance. He looked quite feminine, especially since his hair was well past his shoulders and pulled back into a ponytail with a black silk ribbon, several strands of it messily covering his face.

"It's alright. I'm Zabuza Momochi. I think I'm supposed to be your new bodyguard."

The boy gave him a strange look for a second, before speaking. "Yeah? Hm. That's kinda weird, I never-"

"A-actually, you're supposed to be mine, I think." Both of them looked over quickly at the new voice. Before he could even register who the soft voice belonged to, he was surprised someone had been able to approach them without him noticing. They must have been completely silent, walking down the stairs that the blonde boy had stomped down, loudly.

Zabuza's brows furrowed together slightly, eyeing the dark-haired girl who stood at the foot of the stairs. "I don't think so." He said. "The information I was given implied I would be a guard to one of the Hoshigaki _sons_."

"Ha!" The blonde boy laughed loudly, crossing his arms over his chest. Zabuza noticed the dark-haired one's cheeks turned pink. "That's the 2nd time this week, Haku! Dad lied when he said you would develop more masculine features when you got older, un. Well, maybe if you stopped dressing like _that._" He said pointedly. Haku bristled, his cheeks turning darker.

"This is what I _like_ to wear! It's not your business, Deidara!"

"What?" Zabuza asked, looking at the both of them.

"I. . . I am one of the Hoshigaki _sons_." He said the last word slowly, as the bodyguard himself had done. "My name is Haku." He added, lowering his cocoa-colored eyes. Zabuza frowned, looking the 'boy' up and down again. He was wearing a fitted black shirt that clung to his extremely slender body, and somewhat shorter-than-appropriate pair of black shorts. The bottom hem of them barely brushed the middle of his upper thigh. As the man's eyes trailed downward, bright white knee socks adorned the lower part of his legs, ending in small black tennishoes. He had to admit, if he had looked a bit closer, he might have known Haku was a boy right away. He was far too flatchested to be anything but, and his hips didn't curve out like that of a woman's. But his face was so girlish, even his brother looked manly by comparison. And unlike the long hair of Deidara, his was straight down his back, ending only inches above his waist.

"My apologies." Zabuza said gruffly, although it seemed to be sincere. He didn't want the kid he was supposed to be spending a lot of the time with over the next few months to think he was insulting him.

"It's alright." He said quietly, shrugging. "It happens. . . All the time."

"Dad's office is up the _other _stairs, un." Deidara said, pointing helpfully. It's like. . . The 4th door on the left, I think, un. It should be open, anyway." He said, bouncing off toward the entrance room. "I'm going out." He said loudly, before both Zabuza and Haku heard the door close.

"Well. . . Aren't you going out?" Zabuza asked the boy, who shook his head quickly.

"I'm not allowed."

"Grounded?"

Haku shook his head again, sighing. "No. I never get in trouble." He said, then turned around. "I. . . Heard an unfamiliar voice, and wanted to see you."

"Oh." Zabuza said, because he could think of nothing to say. What a strange boy. "Well, your father is waiting for me. I'll see you in a few, alright?"

"Yes." The dark-haired boy answered, taking a seat on an expensive-looking white leather loveseat.

The man ascended the stairs, finally, and found the door with as much ease as Kisame and Deidara had told him he would. It _was_ the 4th door on the left, and it was the only one open. He supposed the other doors were the master bedroom, a bathroom, maybe another library. . . But there 5 doors in the hallway besides this one. He couldn't possibly think of enough kinds of rooms to have that many doors for. He shook his head, entering the office. Not his business.

"Ah, Momochi." The man said amicably enough. "Pleased to meet you."

"Thanks." He said, offering the hand that was offered to him. Again.

"Gatou has informed you of the arrangement, right?"

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After working out necessary details, Zabuza exited the office, leaving the man named Jaken alone to continue with. . . Whatever he was doing. It had been at least a half hour, so when he descended the stairs and found Haku still sitting on the couch, daydreaming, he was a little surprised.

He cleared his throat, making the dark-haired boy jump, then relax when he saw what the sudden noise was. "Er. . . Your dad told me you'd show me around."

"Alright." Haku said, standing. He glanced back toward the door in which Zabuza had entered the house for the first time. "In there is the entrance hall. My mom calls it the parlor sometimes. And in here is the living room." He pointed to the left staircase which Zabuza had just walked down. "The left wing of the house has my parent's bedroom, my dad's office, my mom's office, the master bathroom, some guest rooms, I think. He turned toward the right staircase. "All 3 of our bedrooms are there, me, Dara, and Kisame that is. A library, 2 bathrooms, and a guest room. . ." He turned toward Zabuza again, gazing up at him. "That's where you'll be sleeping, I'm sure."

"Yeah." He said. "I didn't bring my shit yet. Gotta grab some things from my apartment." He shrugged.

"Do you want me to show it to you, anyway?" Haku asked quietly.

"Sure."

The boy turned immediately, walking up quicker than he had before. Zabuza followed casually, then his eyes widened in shock.

At the upward angle at which they were walking, and the fact that Haku was little more than a few steps ahead of him, he was faced with long, coltish legs. Inches away from his face. His eyes trailed from the top hem of the long socks up porcelain white thighs, which he noticed looked extremely smooth. The shorts that he had barely noticed before now seemed even shorter and far tighter as they were pulled upward with every step the younger boy took. Zabuza stopped dead in his tracks, freezing. What the fuck was he thinking? Eyeing a little boy, Christ it had been too long since he had gotten laid.

Haku turned when he reached the top of the stairs, and noticed the man was only about 3/4 of the way up. "Are you. . . Alright?" He asked softly, folding his hands behind him.

"Yeah." He said, a little harshly. "Fine. I was just looking at. . . This banister. It's cherrywood, right?"

"I think so?" Haku said, cocking his head. "Uhh, anyway, your room is this way." He said, turning again, and walking out of the man's sight before he finished the stairs and was taller than Haku again. He noticed the boy standing in front of an open door, gesturing into it.

"Thanks, I can take it from here, kid." He said quickly, closing the door behind him, and sighing. _That was weird._

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**Haha, pervy Zabuza ~ Anyway, if you like, review and I'll update. ^^; I plan on this being quite a few chapters, but only if people are reading it!**

**- Jesse**


	2. Get to Know You

** Thanks for all the great reviews, guys :) I hope to get a lot more as this goes on. And yes, there WILL be lemons (I put several lemons in my stories; If you're really just CRAVING sex, go check out some of my others) but unlike some of my other fics, this did not start out with Zabuza and Haku in an established relationship (In fact, they're supposed to be meeting for the first time) . I'm not a huge fan of promiscuity in real life and I don't like to have it in my fics. And, I want this story to be sort of lengthy. So no, I'm not going to have Zabuza boning Haku the first day he met him. You guys are just going to have to be patient and let it progress at a normal pace. Sorry if that sounded pissy, I didn't mean for it to D; **

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Zabuza looked around the room, appreciatively. It was as big as the rest of the house, and really nice for just a guest room. He made a noise in his throat when he saw the connecting bathroom. It was small compared to the rest of the house, but it was large compared to anything he had ever had. And it was his, at least for now. Maybe this job would be a lot more pleasant than he had originally thought. The members of the family seemed friendly at least. He had a fleeting image of Haku's black doe eyes, which were a little solemn, but he could have sworn he saw flashes of pure kindness in them in certain moments.

He growled, pushing other fleeting images of the strange little boy from his mind firmly, insisting to himself that the only reason the boy kept popping up in his brain was because he had never met anyone like that before. . . Which was true.

The man thought back on the conversation he had with Jaken Hoshigaki. A few subjects seemed to make the man a little terse, but he was obviously trusting Zabuza with a huge responsibility. He was sure Gatou had spent a long time convincing the man that his employees were to be trusted. Zabuza wasn't sure about _all_ Gatou's employees, but he was certain that he, himself, had no malintent toward the family or the son.

He sat on the bed, testing it. It was very comfortable. Definitely an improvement from the shithole apartment he currently resided in, with a hard, thin mattress haphazardly thrown on his bedroom floor with a ratty comforter over it.

The plumbing where he lived was so bad, he often had to rush thorugh his shower, taking less than 2 or 3 minutes, before the water turned ice cold. He would have bet anything that the hot water heater in this place provided enough water for however long of a shower he might need.

A nice nightstand with a small lamp was beside his bed, and a matching dresser on the other side of them room, where he could keep his clothes. Not that he needed an entire dresser for that. And he usually kept his clothes in a pile in the corner of his bedroom.

"Come in!" He said. Haku walked in, pausing just a few feet in.

"Sorry to bother you again." He said shyly. "But, uhm. . . Tira is doing laundry very soon, and I was going to tell you that if you have clothes that need washed, you might want to put them in the laundry room."

"Tira?"

"Our maid." He explained. He backed up so that he was behind the door again.

"Where is the laundry room?" He asked after a second. He realized he had cut his tour of the house short after the. . . Incident.

"I'll show you." Haku said, then cleared his throat, his eyes downcast. "Unless you would rather have someone else do it."

So he wasn't an idiot. He had definitely noticed how uncomfortable the man had been, and how abruptly he had closed the door on him, pretty much in his face.

"No. . . You're a great tour guide." Zabuza said slowly. He didn't want to be put in the situation to be staring at those long thighs again, but he also didn't want Haku to think he didn't want to be around him. He had a feeling the crossdressing teenager had a lot of people who preferred not to be around him due to being uncomfortable (but probably not in the way Zabuza had been), and probably were not very subtle about it. "I was just. . . I wanted to look at where I'd be staying, is all." He improvised.

"Oh." Haku said, his face brightening a little. "I thought. . . Mm, never mind." He decided, smiling a very small serene smile. "Oh!" He said suddenly. "You said you have to get your things from your house, right? You'd better hurry, Kisa said she's going to start the washing really soon."

"Oh, I uh. . ." Zabuza didn't know how long it would take him to gather up his pitiful belongings, but he knew it probably wouldn't be in time for the laundry. No big deal, anyway. Not like he couldn't wear the same t-shirt twice. "My apartment is a little ways from here, and it will take a little while to pack stuff up."

"I can help." The boy said sunnily, running a hard through his hair, still smiling a little.

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Despite Zabuza's protests that Haku didn't want to see his ratty apartment, travel to the poor inner city, or help him pack up his crap, the coy teenager had managed to convince the man he could be a big help. And when Zabuza had suggested Haku tell Jaken where he was going, the boy had lost his smile again, telling the swordsman softly that he was fine to go wherever he wanted, as long as his guardian was with him. And had agreed to let the boy come with him to his apartment. After all, it was his job to go everywhere with the kid now, right?

So they had loaded into Zabuza's car, the floorboards littered with wrappers and receipts and other pieces of trash, to Zabuza's slight embarrassment. Haku didn't seem to notice though, and if he did, he wasn't perturbed by it.

Suddenly though, the man froze, his hand on the ignition. "Wait. I thought you said you weren't allowed out."

"Not without my bodyguard." Haku explained.

". . . Am I your first?"

Haku frowned, shaking his head. "Second."

"What happened to the first?" Zabuza asked, turning the key and cranking up the car. He was sure that the old model wasn't what the boy was used to. He had probably been driven around in limousines and expensive luxury cars.

"I don't really wanna talk about it." Haku said quietly.

"Okay." Zabuza said, glancing over at him and noticing with disdain that the sad look was back. He must have had it nearly all the time.

"He was fired, though." Haku said, as though not to leave the man completely in the dark about it.

"Oh." Zabuza said. He was mystified. What could his former had done to get fired? Hopefully, nothing to harm the boy. _Why do you care?_ A voice nagged him in his head. _He's just a job._ Zabuza mentally scowled. Of course the kid was just a job, but did that mean he wanted him to get hurt? No. In fact, it was his job to completely prevent him from being hurt in any way. "Well, I'll try not to get fired." He said, the sound of Haku's soft laugh brushing across his ears like feathers, making him want to scratch them.

"Okay." He said, then hesitated. "I'll try not to get you fired." He said quietly. Zabuza's eyes widened a little.

"Oh, did he _get_ fired, or did _you get _him fired?" He asked. What was he doing asking all of these questions? It was like the dark-eyed boy brought out a curiousity in him that had lain dormant for all of his previous life. Maybe he just liked to hear that wonderful voice. It was a long time before Haku answered, but after awhile he let out a whimper.

"I. . ." Haku looked up at him, suddenly looking very young, and very distressed. "I didn't mean to." He said, his voice nearly inaudible. A feeling of absolute dread and horror washed over Zabuza as he watched one fat tear slip out of the boy's eye, spreading a little over his thick bottom lashes, then streak down his smooth cheek, leaving a sheen. "I really didn't." He said again, his breath shuddering out.

"I believe you." Zabuza said quickly, keeping his eyes on the road. Jesus Christ, if there was one thing he couldn't handle, it was someone crying in front of him. He wanted to pull over to the side of the road or something, but he knew that might just make it worse. Best just to try to smooth it over, he supposed. "I'm sure it wasn't your fault." He said, wondering if it really had been.

"Mother and Father told me it wasn't. But he told me it was." He said quietly, rubbing furiously at his eyes, making them red and puffy.

"He, who?" Zabuza said, keeping his eyes firmly in front of him. It would be spectacular to have a car wreck with the boy the first day he was supposed to be keeping him safe.

"M-my last bodyguard. Pain." He said, looking down at his knees, pressing them together and laying his hands on them.

"Pain Rikudo?" Zabuza blurted out before he could stop himself. The man worked for someone else, for a different company, but he had met him before. He had seemed kind of cruel to be bodyguard to a young boy. _Like you're much better._

"Yes. You know him?" Haku asked, a twinge of fear in his voice that he tried to hide.

"Not really. I've met him, but we aren't friends or anything." Zabuza said. He wasn't extremely skilled in reading other people's emotions, especially someone as secretive and pensieve as Haku, but he could tell just thinking about the orange-haired man was a little frightening to him. ". . . It was at least a year or so ago." He added.

"That was before it happened." Haku said quietly. "I think. . . I think when my Father fired him, he was fired from where he worked, too. I bet he was angry." For someone who hadn't wanted to talk about it, Haku was certainly talking about it. But he didn't seem to be crying anymore, so that was a plus. Zabuza was much more used to seeing people break down and bawl, rather than shed one small tear and be finished. The boy had probably been embarassed at crying in front of a man. "That's why my parents started requesting services from where _you_ work. So they could see if. . . Well, I don't know. Someone who was more reliable." He finished quickly. What had happened with his previous guard was obviously a tender, and sticky subject.

"I will protect you to the best of my abilities." The brown-haired man said firmly. Haku glanced over at him through lowered lashes.

"Yes. I'm sure you will."

They said nothing for several minutes, until Zabuza noticed the boy prop his knees up on the dashboad, leaning back on the seat. He was peering out of the window, obviously enthralled by the less-than-beautiful scenery around them. Filthy streets, filthy people. Prostitutes and drug dealers littered the corners, though the man wondered if Haku would recoginize them as such. He was obviously feeling mellow and comfortable, so he assumed it might be a good time to gently explore the situation a little more. After all, he needed to know what to avoid as the boy's constant escort. He didn't want to "fuck it up", as Gatou had said. Zabuza's eyebrows rose a little as the realization dawned on him, the reason why the fat man had warned him to be careful. He obviously knew about what had happened the last time the boy had been given someone to guard him.

"Do _you_ think it was your fault?" He asked, making a turn into a parking lot. They were at his place now.

Haku looked at him straight in the eyes for the first time since they he had been riding. "I'm not sure. I probably could have done a little less to provoke it, but I didn't do anything on purpose."

"Well if it whatever you did was an accident, then it wasn't your fault. Accidents happen."

Haku nodded slowly. "I guess so." He looked up at the brick building, the man's apartment. "Are we here?"

"Yeah. I live on the second floor." Zabuza explained, waiting for Haku to exit the car and close the door. They walked through the entry-way and up the stairs, Haku asking several questions along the way about the city. He seemed to be genuinely interested in all of it, meager as it was. The guardian supposed it was because all he had ever been exposed to in his life had been perfect and clean and pristine.

When they got into his one-bedroom abode, Haku's eyes widened at the messiness. Zabuza could tell, but ignored it. "You live here?" He asked, turning in a slow circle to survey it all.

"Yes." Zabuza deadpanned. "For several years now. Cozy, isn't it?"

Haku turned to face him again, a genuine smile on his face, albeit a small one. "But it's yours."

". . . Yeah?"

"You don't think it's nice to have something all to yourself? Nobody to tell you what to do, or tell you what to wear. People can't say 'You aren't allowed to go out unless someone is with you.", isn't that right?"

"Well, yeah. I'm an adult." _And he's a child._

"I almost am." Haku said quietly, noting the puzzled look on the man's face. "I'm 17." Zabuza knew his feelings on the subject were probably evident by the shock on his face.

"You're really 17?? I thought you were. . ." _About 14._ "Younger." He said quickly.

"Everyone thinks that. Everyone looks at me and thinks I'm a little girl. But I'm almost a grown man." He could detect a slight bitterness in Haku's voice.

"If you don't like everyone thinking you're a girl, why do you dress like that?"

Haku shrugged, blushing. He glanced down at himself and suddenly felt an enormous amount of self-conciousness. He resisted the urge to tug at the bottom of his shorts to cover himself a little bit. "This is what I like to wear." He repeated. "And it doesn't matter anyway." He went on. "People would think I'm a girl even if I cut my hair short and wore boy clothes. Deidara wears male clothing and people mistake him for a woman sometimes. I guess it's just genetics."  
"But not Kisame?"

Haku laughed. Again, the sound seemed to affect the older male physically, though he didn't know why. And frankly, it was beginning to bother him. "No way. Kisame is. . . Manly." He decided on the word. "Would _you_ mistake him for a girl?"

"No." Zabuza grinned. "But maybe you or Deidara, on the right day." He said honestly.

"Yeah." Haku agreed. "I think maybe we take after Mother, and he takes after Father, but I'm not really sure. Mother has blonde hair and blue eyes, like Dei-kun." He said, using his pet name for his brother. And Father has darker features, like Kisame and I, but. . . Hm. I don't really know." He said, still smiling.

They packed all of Zabuza's stuff fairly quickly, but it still took longer than anticipated, from all of the talking. When the man hoisted the 2 medium sized suitcases up on his shoulder and began walking out of the building after locking up his door, Haku frowned.

"I can help carry one of those." He said, and Zabuza shook his head.

"I've got them, no problem." He said, which was true. He could carry 10x this amount, if need be. He shoved them in the backseat of his car, and got in the driver's seat, waiting for Haku to meticulously put his seatbelt on and get settled before starting the car again. It was evening now, but the stars weren't plainly visible. Too much light from the street corners and buildings.

But when Zabuza decided to take another route to make up some time by taking another route, passing a huge wall, Haku gasped out loud, turning and pressing his face against the window. "Oh, Zabuza, look!" He had never called the man by his name before. The escort decided he liked the sound of it, coming out in that melodic voice. It was husky and soft, but it had a pitch to it that he knew could make a person just sit and listen for hours, or at least he could. _Sit and listen to him for hours? What the fuck are you thinking, Momochi? _

"What?" Zabuza asked, ignoring the nagging voice in his head again. Apparently he was going to be ignoring that thing a lot in the future. He hoped it wasn't his conscience.

"Look at those paintings!"

". . . Those aren't paintings. It's graffiti. It's illegal." He said, giving the kid an odd look.

"Illegal, why?" He asked, sound distressed. "They won't take it off, will they?"

"Probably not, but yeah, it's illegal. It's vandalism. Haven't you ever seen graffiti before, Haku?"

"No." He said, looking back out of the back window at it for another second before sitting back correctly in his seat. "I like it. It's gorgeous. The people who did it must be very talented."

"Some of them." Zabuza agreed.

"Why would they use their talents on something illegal?" Haku wondered.

Zabuza didn't say anything. What could he say? He had commited dozens of crimes in his life, and most of them hadn't even been for a spectacular reason. He suddenly had an idea. Pulling over onto a different street, he pulled into a different parking lot, the one he had left earlier today.

"This is where I work." He explained. Haku nodded, glancing up through the dirty windshield. "I need to go talk to my boss for a minute, but. . . I can't leave you out here. Wanna come in with me?"

"Sure." Haku said agreeably. They walked in together, taking the elevator up to the third floor. When they reached the door, Zabuza glanced back.

"Just, uh. . . Sit right there." He said, pointing to a chair that was in direct sight of the window on the door of Gatou's office. He knew he needed to keep sight of the boy at all times. "I'll only be like a minute, alright?"

"Alright." Haku said, sitting obediently, crossing his ankles, waiting.

When the door was securely closed so he could _see _Haku and and Haku could _see_ him, but neither of them could hear each other, he turned to his boss.

"A problem?" Gatou asked with a deadly glint in his voice, eyeing the Hoshigaki heir outside.

"Not at all." Zabuza said assuredly. "The kid is pretty agreeable. I don't think this will be too much of a challenge."

"Then why are you here?" He asked accusingly.

"I got a question to ask. You didn't put it in the dossier shit."

"Well, what?" He asked grumpily, but he was pleased that the two were getting along and the job seemed agreeable with the brown-haired man. He had wanted the bundles of cash this mission was worth, but he didn't have a lot of employees he thought he could trust the kid with. Momochi was rough around the edges, but he was skilled with a gun or a knife or a sword. Or a broken beer bottle, he thought, remembering witnessing the man in a gang-related brawl several years ago. And he had enough focus for his missions that he wouldn't get distracted and allow the kid to get hurt.

"What happened with the kid's last bodyguard?" He asked, struggling to make it sound casual, and not like it was a personal interest.

Gatou looked thoughtful for a moment. "Ah, oh yeah. Well, I don't know every single detail, but I know Rikudo is in prison over it."

"Prison? What the hell did he do?"

"Attempted sexual battery involving a minor." He said, glancing out of the window at the kid, who was thumbing through a magazine.

Zabuza's face visibly blanched, then his brows furrowed together. "You mean. . . ?"

"Yeah, he wanted to fuck the kid." Gatou said, adjusting his glasses. "The way I hear it, the oldest brother caught wind of it and when he went up to investigate, Rikudo had the kid pressed up against a wall or something. Trying to, uh. . . Well you know."

"Yeah." Zabuza said, not knowing what else to say. "Well, I just wondered." His blood was pumping through his veins furiously hot. He couldn't imagine someone as large and strong as Pain physically forcing the small boy into anything, let alone sex. No wonder the boy was so painfully shy. He had been traumatized.

"Yeah well get back to your job, Momochi. I don't pay you to hang around here."

"You barely pay me at all." He growled, but nonetheless, stepped out, signaling Haku to follow. They loaded back into the car, and Zabuza drove all the way back to the Hoshigaki manor, parking in the driveway before Haku spoke.

"I didn't think you would want to know, or I would told you." He whispered, looking out of the window."

"Hm?"

"You asked Gatou what happened with Pain. You could have just asked me, we didn't need to go to the place you worked."

Zabuza looked at him for a few seconds, waiting for him to look over at him too, so he could look into those endless eyes. Finally, Haku turned his head, his face heating up when he saw how intensely the man was staring at him. "I didn't want to pressure you into talking about something that might upset you."

"Oh." Haku said simply, opening the door and stepping out. Zabuza followed.

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**And yes, I know most people call him 'Pein'. I don't care, I like spelling it that way. **

** Review! :D **


	3. If We're Keeping Score

**The Hoshigaki manor's butler and maid, and parents, are original characters, because I didn't see the point in using real characters if they were only going to be implemented in a few sentences total, throughout the entire story. So if you saw some names you didn't recognize, that's why. **

* * *

After slinging the two suitcases over his shoulder and following Haku inside, Zabuza closed the front door with a low click. The younger male had already gone through the entrance hall, the living room, and presumably the right flight of stairs. The man inwardly groaned. Great, now the kid was avoiding him. Before he could make his way up with his luggage, he was stopped by the same older butler as before. He thought he remembered the man saying his name was Parkins.

"Shall I carry your bags up for you, Master Momochi?" He asked in a slow voice, with an accent Zabuza didn't recognize.

"Uh. . . No." He said, shaking his head. "Thanks I got it." _Master Momochi? Pfft._ "Just, uh. . . Did you see where Haku went?"

"I believed the young Master retreated up to his room." Parkins said, raising a gray brow. "He looked a little upset. Perhaps I sh-"

"No." Zabuza said flatly. "I just said something I didn't know would upset him. I'm going to apologize right now. No need to. . . Do anything." He finished, turning on his heel and hurrying up the stairs.

He threw his suitcases into his new bedroom haphazardly, and headed straight to the teenager's bedroom door. _Oh shit._ He glanced at the 6 doors in the long, brightly lit hallway, not counting his room. He knew 3 of them would be 2 bathrooms and a library. The other 3 had to be the bedrooms of the 3 brothers, but which one belonged to Haku? They were all tightly closed, except the 2 bathrooms. So that eliminated those 2. 4 rooms left. . . "Goddamn it." Zabuza hissed. This was so aggravating. How could one house need so many rooms and doors? "This is ridiculous." He finally said, rolling his dark eyes. He walked up to one of the doors, and knocked on it. When he heard shuffling inside, he assumed he had gotten one of the bedrooms and waited, eyes narrowed.

"Zabuza, un." Deidara grinned at him from his open doorway, when the door opened. _Fuck. Wrong room._ "Something the matter?"

"Uhh, yeah." _Oh, you really want to put him in this? _"Well. . . Actually no." He said quickly. Deidara tilted his head, puzzled.

"Yes or no, un?"

Zabuza sighed. "Do you know which one is Haku's door? There are too many doors, it's confusing the hell outta me." He finally said, annoyed.

The blonde giggled. Zabuza had never heard anyone giggle before, except very young children and very fake women trying to seem coy. Deidara's seemed genuine. "It's alright, un. I know it's kinda overwhelming sometimes." He stepped out, pointing to the door directly beside Zabuza's. "That one is his. The one aaaaaaall the way down there at the end is the library, un. And the other right over here is Kisame's." He didn't mention the bathrooms, since they were open. But he didn't need to know about them, anyway. He had one connected to his room.

"Thanks." He said sincerely.

"No problem, un." The teenager answered, just as sincerely. He went to turn to shut his door, but stopped, glancing up at the man one more time, and Zabuza, for just a second, could see the resemblance in the two youngest brothers. In their eyes.

"You won't hurt him, un. Not like the last one." It was phrased like a question.

"I won't hurt him." Zabuza said dully. "I'm a trained professional specializing in close combat and long-range gun firing. He's completely safe in my hands. I will protect him with the best of my abilities. My mission is my top priority at all times."

Deidara looked serious for another moment, then smiled sweetly. A smile Zabuza was sure would have other men or women melting into incapable puddles. The blonde boy was obviously accustomed to getting his way, and wasn't above using his looks to get them. "I'm glad to hear that, Zabuza, un." The charming looks weren't going to work on the man - He wasn't interested in teenage boys. _Not this one, anyway, _the voice hissed, making Zabuza frown. And he doubted Deidara meant it in a less than innocent way. It was probably just habit of him to act that way. Just a flirty personality.

"Right." He said, backing up an inch. "Well. . . Thanks again. I'm going to go talk to Haku now."

"Be good." Deidara said, closing the door. Be good? What was the boy getting at? Why wouldn't he be good?

Stop being paranoid, nobody can see your thoughts, Momochi. Nobody knows you were checking out the kid's legs. It's not a big deal, anyway. Just looking. Barely even looking. More like a glance. And what does he expect, when he prances around in shorts like that?

Suddenly, horror washed over the man at a memory. He could quite vividly see in his mind Haku's haunted eyes, the boy wringing his hands in front of him when Zabuza had asked him if it had been his fault about Pain getting fired. "Mother and Father told me it wasn't, but he told me it was." and "I probably could have done a little less to provoke it, but I didn't do anything on purpose." He was just as bad as Rikudo, eyeing him and then acting like it was his fault. He should be able to dress how he wanted without the fear of being raped or abused by someone.

Oh God, this was getting more complicated than he had anticipated. Knocking on Haku's door quickly, he decided there would be no more looking at the kid as anything more than that: A kid. There was no reason he couldn't completely put off sexual thoughts, at least for the time it took to complete this mission, however long it would take.

"Yes?" Haku asked quietly, opening the door slowly. Zabuza's face blanked, and all thoughts were wiped clean from his brain. The boy was wearing nothing but a pair of red fleece pajama pants. He was sure they weren't designed to be sexy, but Haku was so thin they barely clung to his hips, slipping down to rest less than an inch above exposing himself completely. In the next instant, the dark-haired teenager held a red top, lifting it over his head to put it on. For the moment the shirt covered Haku's head and face before it was pulled down to cover his chest and belly, Zabuza stared dumbly at the shallow navel that he could lucidly see putting the tip of his tongue in. His eyes darted to the lovely hipbones, angled perfectly so he could see himself gripping them. Gripping them while the boy writhed under him, covered in nothing but sweat, begging and pleading for- "Zabuza?" He asked questioningly, opening the door a little wider.

_You are going to Hell, Momochi._ Ignoring the voice, he managed to speak. "Yeah sorry, I was just thinking for a second."

"About what?" He asked innocently, moving aside to let the man come into his bedroom.

What you would sound like when you moan for me. "About, uh. . . I hope I didn't hurt your feelings about that whole thing, Haku. I want us to be able to trust each other." _Oh, that's ironic._ When Haku gestured for him to sit in a chair in the bedroom, he did so.

"I trust you." Haku assured him softly. "I can see you're a good person."  
"I'm not." Zabuza blurted out. He couldn't help it. Nobody had ever said that to him before. Haku looked a little shocked at the outburst, but turned away from the man and shut his bedroom door. Leaving them completely alone again. This was not the way Zabuza had wanted their conversation to go.

"Why would you say that?" He asked, sitting on his bed, his eyes downcast.

"Haku. I'd be lying if I said I was!" Zabuza said louder than he meant to. How could this sweet person think that HE was so great? "I've stolen before. I've been in gangs, and I've hurt people because of it. I've killed before." He said the last sentence quietly, his head turned. He didn't want to see the boy's face during his confessions. "I've been to prison before, for good reason. I've done drugs. Lots of them."

"But you don't do any of those things anymore, do you?"

Zabuza paused for a moment, considering. "Well. . . I don't steal or do drugs. But killing is a necessary part of my job, if one of my clients is in danger."

"You're a good person." Haku repeated. Zabuza repressed the urge to get up and shake his shoulders as if to knock some sense into him. "You're the first person that actually listens to what I'm saying. And you're not pretending. I can tell." He said with a little desperation in his voice.

Zabuza didn't know what to say. It was true, he was interested in what Haku was saying. And if that's what the dark-haired beauty considered made someone a good person, then he supposed he was. "Thank you." He said, more than a little stiffly. He didn't want to get personal with the kid, he didn't want to have feelings for anyone, especially not someone who was the key to his current job. He stood, opening the door. "Sleep well." He said quickly, shutting the door behind him. He just hoped Haku couldn't see his entered his room, glad he didn't see Kisame or Deidara, or the maid or butler. He didn't want to talk to anyone.

Laying in bed, staring at the ceiling, Zabuza shifted so he was laying on his side, breathing out deeply. This bed was the most comfortable he had ever been in, but this was the most uncomfortable situation he had ever been in. _It doesn't have to be like this, you fucking pervert._

"Damn it." He hissed. What was wrong with him? This had never happened before. Yeah, he had met people he had been attracted to before, even lusted after. But nobody had made him feel like he was burning from the inside out just from a voice or a pair of melted chocolate eyes. Thoughts of him, even innocent ones, clouded his brain, making it difficult to focus on anything else.

He wondered if Haku was sleeping peacefully, innocent mind free of stress and worry, or if he was being tormented with the same thoughts. _Do you really think someone like that is interested in someone as repulsive as you?_

He didn't know how late it was, but he knew he had to be awake and alert tomorrow, for the first official day of his mission. Turning over again, he growled, pressing his face into the soft pillow, willing himself to fall asleep.

* * *

It seemed to work, because the next time he woke up, the sun was up, beaming in through the venetian blinds on his window, making everything in the room butter yellow. He slid out of bed, ready to begin the day anew. Well, as ready as he could be, anyway. Maybe Gatou had been right about this being more difficult than it seemed.

* * *

** Now I hate to seem repetitive, but I see some people adding this story to their favorites and alerts and all, but NOT REVIEWING. Let me explain this to you again, I WILL NOT UPDATE WITHOUT SOME REVIEWS. And this happened to me a lot with my other fics, and it's starting to get on my nerves. But thanks to everyone who DID review so far :] **


	4. This is What We Call a Tragedy

**Again, thank you for taking time to review and critique my work, I really appreciate it. I'm enjoying working on this fic so far and hope I can keep it going for awhile :)**

** Also, I know it's been going slooow between Zabu and Haku (It's BARELY a yaoi so far), and this chapter's main purpose is background information, but I SWEAR if you just be patient and read the actual plot, there will be romance and blah blah. In fact, I decided to upload this chapter, and chapter 5 at the same time so that you get some interaction between the 2 main characters. **

* * *

When he arrived at the bottom of the staircase, not having seen anyone yet, he glanced around the room before heading over to the opposite steps. He climbed them quickly, glad there were little to no distractions this morning and knocked on Jaken's office door.

"Come in!" He heard a cool female voice from the other side and opened it, a little confused. Had he gotten the wrong door again?

"Hello, it's wonderful to meet you, Momochi. My name is Emily." She had bright baby blue eyes and thick blonde hair, and looked enough like her middle son so that he knew right away who she was. She had been sitting demurely in a seat next to her husband's desk with her ankles crossed, but when he entered the room she stood, holding out her hand.

Zabuza took it, unsure of whether to shake it, or kiss it. These types of women were always a mystery to him. He decided to shake it gently, so as not to frighten her. He wasn't sure if he could pull off the charming hand-kissing card, since he wasn't that charming of a guy to begin with. "A pleasure, Mrs. Hoshigaki." He said, deciding on the formal, as he had done with her husband. "Mr. Hoshigaki asked me to meet with him this morning and give him a sort of. . . Status report, if you will."

"Oh yes, of course." She said, smoothing her skirts as she sat. "I have to say, I'm a little concerned. . ." She said softly, laying her hand on the arm rest, elegantly.

Shit shit shit. Concerned? Does she know something? "I'm afraid I don't know what you might be concerned about."

She laughed a little, a subtly polite little laugh. "Oh no, it's nothing to do with you personally. I just worry for Haku. Such a fragile child."

Zabuza thought he was hardly a child, but he didn't say so. Underage, yes. A child, no. "I see." He said, indicating for her to go on.

"Ever since the incident, I worry so much for him, but. . . I'm afraid we never really 'got close'." She said, frowning a bit. "He's such a loner."

"I. . . Hadn't noticed." Zabuza said honestly. Haku had practically jmped at the chance to accompany him to his apartment.

"Oh?" She asked, a little surprised. "We hardly even get to talk to him. He usually stays up in his room, or in his studio."

"Studio?" He asked, feeling dumber by the moment, only being able to answer her with one, two, or three word answers.

"Mm, yes. Well, it's more of a darkroom, really. Down in the basment, he takes all of his film to be developed and all of that."

"He didn't tell me took pictures."

"Oh yes, he spends so much time on it. All of the pictures he keeps, he puts them in a book. In the library, in the East wing, there probably hundreds of books filled with the pictures he's taken."

"I might have to take a look at those."

"Oh, would you?" She asked brightly. "He would appreciate it. He's too shy to mention, I'm sure, but he loves it when people look at his work."

"It's no trouble at all." He said, clearing his throat, suddenly feeling out-of-place. "Ah, anyway, I came to inform you that everything seems fine. As you know, I escorted him out to the inner city last night, as he insisted. Nothing troublesome occured."

"Wonderful." She said, folding her hands over her breasts. "I worry so much about that man, although most tell me he may not even be alive anymore. But. . . You know, it's better to be safe than sorry. It's why we insist on having an escort for Haku at all times."  
Zabuza frowned a little. "Well I don't think he's dead, but I'm assured Rikudo is contained in prison."

She looked puzzled for a moment before shaking her head. "Oh. . . No, I. . ." She trailed off, then began speaking again as if she didn't quite know to phrase it. "I wasn't talking about Rikudo. That was. . . An unfortunate incident. A very traumatic experience in Haku's life and quite stressful for me as a mother, but he isn't the man I'm talking about. Didn't anyone tell you the reason Haku has a bodyguard to begin with?!" She cried out, her words getting louder by the sentence.

"I don't think so." Zabuza replied. What the hell had Gatou left out telling him? That bastard.

"This is unacceptable!" She said, standing, her mid-length skirt swishing behind her a she took a step.

"To be honest, Mrs. Hoshigaki." Zabuza intervened, normally dull eyes widening slightly. "I've only skimmed through the dossier I was provided when this mission was assigned to me. The event you're referring to could be in those notes."

"No!" She said firmly. "No, this should have been the _first_ thing you were informed of! The most important element of protecting him." She stood at the doorway, the seemingly elegant and reserved woman looking as though she were braced for a fight. "Parkins!" She yelled out into the empty hallway. "Bindi, or Parkins or someone! Please report to me immediately!" She said louder this time. Zabuza watched with slight interest, wondering if she'd gone a bit mad, or if there really was a huge chunk of importance that he was not aware or concerning the boy.

When it was a slightly husky woman a few years younger than Zabuza who showed up at the door, slightly winded as if she had sprinted across the house and up the stairs, the brown-haired man assumed it had been Bindi who had heard the angry woman first.

"What's the matter, Mistress?" She asked, leaning forward, hands resting on her apron.

"I request to see my husband. Immediately." She added, eyes dangerously narrowed. "I am not concerned with whatever he was previously engaged in, inform him I need him in my presence _now._"

"Yes, Madam!" Bindi said swiftly, eyes wide. "I will fetch him right away." She said, hurrying off and down the stairs.

"Ah. . ." Zabuza began awkwardly. "Should I get you a glass of water or something?"

"No." She said quickly, waving her hand. "I'm just a little distressed. I do hope Bindi fetches Jaken quickly. I don't know how this happened."

"Nor do I." He said flatly, leaning back in his chair again. He wondered when Haku was, and if he had heard his mother bellowing like a provoked wildebeest.

They waited for about another minute and a half before Jaken appeared at the door, his facial expression bemused. "May I ask why Bindi nearly broke down my door in a panic, and informed me that you were dying to speak to me?"

"Feel free." Emily said haughtily, taking her seat again next to his large desk.

He looked surprised for a moment, then his face took on the stormy look as well. "Why did Bindi nearly break down my door in a panic, and inform me that you were dying to see me?" He asked, between gritted teeth. Zabuza wondered how good of a marriage this was.

"While speaking to Momochi, who, let me remind you is the sole person responsible for our youngest son's physical well-being at all times, I discovered he is quite uninformed about a very important event that took place in our lives."

Jaken sighed, dropping down into the seat behind his desk and looked wearily at his wife. "No, I did not bother Momochi with the story that you seem to dwell on. I didn't find it relevant to our current situation, really. As long as he knows to protect-"

"You didn't find it relevant to the current situation!?" She barked at him. "Need I remind you _why_ we decided to have a guardian for Haku to begin with?"

"No." He said, twisting a pen between his fingers. "I don't need to be reminded. But we haven't heard from him in years. I don't want to scare the boy, or worry Momochi with things that are no more than an idle threat made years ago!"

"If they were an idle threat made years ago, then why is Haku still in need of an attendant?" She asked.

Zabuza cleared his throat, tired of sitting by and listening to them argue like children. He was sure Haku and Deidara at their respective ages would have handled the situation better than these 2 full-grown adult parents. "With all due respect, Mr. and Mrs. Hoshigaki, instead of arguing about it, maybe you should just tell me." He deadpanned.

Emily glanced at her husband then at him, then back at her husband, who sighed, waving a hand toward her tiredly, a sign for her to go ahead and tell the story.

* * *

**Flashback**** -**

Young Haku, at the tender age of 7, sat on a park bench, happily swinging his legs in rhythm, inches over the ground. His head swayed side to side with the beat of his legs, humming a small tune. "Well you seem happy, Haku." Emily remarked, smiling. She sat beside her youngest, after giving Deidara a large ice cream cone and watching him scamper off to play with the other children.

"Mmhmm." Haku nodded his agreement, still humming. She handed him the other cone she held in her hand, and he lapped at it gleefully.

"Why such a good mood, my love?" She asked, running a hand down his shoulder-length hair. She thought it looked a little unkempt, but he insisted that she and Jaken not make him get it cut. She remembered his tearful plea, which had squeezed her heart painfully, that without his hair, he wouldn't be the same person. Although she explained to him that hair had nothing to do with who you are, Jaken and she had decided to let it grow out to whatever length he wanted. After all, when he got older, he might decide to cut it anyway.

"Kisame is letting me come watch today!" He said, his eyes sparkling.

"Watch?" She asked, leaning back into the uncomfortable bench. It was such a nice day out, she couldn't find a reason not to grin along with her boy.

"Watch him play football!" 18-year-old Kisame played football with enough other boys for it to be considered a 'team', and they sometimes played other 'teams', much to Haku's amazement. He had always wanted to watch, and this would be his first time getting to.

"Well that'll be fun. You think you wanna be a football player when you get older, too?" She asked, and he giggled.

"I don't know, Momma. You have to be really strong for that. Dad says I might not ever get as strong as Kisame." He said sagely, before licking his strawberry cone again.

"You'll bet better, my love. You'll be as strong as Kisame one day, I promise." She said, and he tilted his head at her.

"Dad says-"

"Your dad doesn't know, honey, he isn't a doctor." She said firmly, her tone indicating the conversation was finished.

"Ok, Momma." He said, and continued eating. She looked away from him, sighing. She didn't want to think about that, not today. It was too nice of a day to worry herself into a fit like she did most other days over her third son. She didn't know how this had happened anyway. Kisame and Deidara were strong, healthy boys, they always had been. But from the time her sweet little Haku had been born, the doctors had fretted, causing her to panic. She remembered with dread laying in the hospital bed after giving birth for the 3rd and final time, asking the doctors to bring her baby to her.

"Bring me Haku." She had said, not quite strong enough to sit up, but strong enough to raise her arms up. "Do you hear me?" She cried angrily, glaring at the nurse who stood beside her bed. "He's mine, bring him to me."

"Please calm down, Mrs. Hoshigaki. Haku is. . . There is a small problem. They're looking at him right now."

"A problem." The words she had spoken had sounded very far away as if she were in a long tunnel.

"He's just a little small, that's all. No need to worry. They're putting him in an incubator for a little while." When Emily didn't respond, the nurse went on. "His immune system isn't really where it should be yet, he doesn't need to be in the open air."

Her baby had stayed in the incubator for 2 weeks before she was allowed to hold him and play with him like she wanted. She had been utterly heartbroken when she was the 4th or 5th person to hold her beloved child.

Even when she got him back, they had to frequently visit the doctors, the specialists. His lungs were weak, his organs were weak, his immune system was weak, he was low on white blood cells, he wasn't growing fast enough, she had heard everything she had never wished to hear about her child.

But it wasn't the time to reflect on those memories. She sat up, glaring up into the sky and her fate. It wasn't the time for that at all. When she looked over, Haku was still humming happily, the ice cream was gone, and he was chewing on the waffle cone. She managed a small smile. Her baby boy would be okay. She was sure of it.

About 20 minutes later, Emily gathered up her purse, pulling the strap over her shoulder, and gestured for Haku to follow her. "Time to go home." She said, and Haku sighed.

"Alriiight." He said, hopping down from the bench and grimacing. He hated leaving the park.

"Come on now, and let's go get Deidara. He's over by the swings."

Haku nodded, fully intent on going with her, but then noticed a water fountain in the opposite direction. "No, Momma. I'm kinda thirsty, let me just run over there to that fountain while you get Dara." She couldn't see anyone in that general vicinity anyway.

She glanced over, judging the distance, and nodded. "Alright. Don't go anywhere else, just to that fountain." He pranced away happily, crunching the leaves under his shoes, enjoying the satisfying noise it made. As he walked, he looked up into the trees, making him dizzy. He smiled at the woozy feeling, but continued walking straight toward his destination, ever obedient. He could hear the birds singing to each other, chirping and whistling, and wondered if they had a bird language like he had a people language.

When he got to the fountain, he twisted the knob and slurped noisily at the stream of water coming from the unsanitary thing. Being a child, he had no concern with germs or bacteria, but he knew the doctors talked about it a lot. Forgetting himself, he back up a few centimeters from the streaming water, and did the special trick nobody knew about. He was afraid to tell Momma or Dad or Kisame or Dara, he was afraid they would get jealous of the awesome tricks he could do with the water. He didn't want to make them feel bad because they couldn't do it. He giggled as the stream twisted up and away from the fountain, touching his fingers lightly before dripping down onto the grass before him.

"Pretty cool." He heard a deep voice behind him. The boy spun, eyes wide, as if he had been caught with his hand in the cookie jar before dinner. A tall man with long dark hair in his late 30's smiled at him.

"What is?" Haku played dumb. He didn't want to get in trouble. . .

"What you can do with the water."

"Oh." Haku said, shifting onto his other foot, looking sheepish. "I guess so. Hay mister." He said suddenly.

"Oh, please, call me Orochimaru." He said warmly. Anyone but a child might have seen that his eyes were colder than ice.

"Orochimaru." Haku said, the word sounding weird tumbling out of his mouth. It was a long name. "Did your mom and dad ever tell you to cut your hair?" When the man smiled, he had sharp-looking teeth. Just like Kisame, Haku thought excitedly.

"I don't remember. Why do you ask?"

"Well, I-" Haku let out a strangled cry when he was jerked up violently by the front of his shirt. He had never been touched in a less-than-positive way before, and just the sheer violence of the act sent his young mind into a sort of shock. He felt the man's hand cover his mouth, cutting off any screams he might have made for his mother. He tried to wriggle out of the tight grip, but Orochimaru was incredibly strong. Dimly, he felt the man's hand move up an inch or so, so that it covered his nostrils and mouth at the same time, cutting off his supply of oxygen.

Unwise as it was, he continued to release muffled shrieks into the dark-eyed man's palm, unwittingly wasting the air he had in his lungs. He kicked and scratched as best he could, in the awkward position he was in. The bright sun that he been beaming down into his face began to dim, his vision fading and blurring in front of him. He could feel himself becoming sleepy, like he was every night towards the end of the stories Parkins read him while he laid in his bed.

His eyes opened again when he heard a woman screaming bloody murder. Momma, he thought, his mind hardly registering it. His Momma was here with him, at the park. She could see him, and the man who called himself Orochimaru. He heard the feminine screams more, becoming louder, and he felt his body being jerked upwards. He felt the vibrations from the man's chest as he screamed back. Words were being thrown back and forth but he couldn't hear them well enough to understand. He cried out again, tears rising from his eyes when he felt razor-sharp nails digging into his shoulder. When he felt the finger slip down from his nose, he breathed in harshly, choking from the sudden surplus of air. But he was still being held tightly and not in the way his father picked him up and squeezed him in what he called a bear hug. He could still feel the fingernails under his skin. It was hurting him so badly.

"You wouldn't know what to do with a boy such as this." The man hissed. He sounded like a snake, Haku realized.

His mother's screams were becoming even louder, and more urgent. The boy's head lolled forward, fatigue hitting him hard. He felt himself, and the man falling backward and hitting the ground hard. He heard more voices now, two more men's. He felt himself being ripped away from Orochimaru, the skin of his shoulder and neck tearing, blood blossoming through the fabric of his little t-shirt. His eyelids raised half-way and for a moment, he saw the completely unfamiliar face of a man wearing a blue baseball cap before he felt himself being pulled into the familiar arms of his mother, who held him nearly as tightly as Orochimaru had.

He glanced back, at the man in the hat and Orochimaru and his eyes widened like saucers when he saw the long-haired man stand, snarling.

"You haven't foiled me, shrieking whore. I will gain control of your son, and use his powers for my bidding. Don't forget!" He spat out, before a dark cloud seemed to come out of nowhere and surround his body. When the smoke dispersed, the man was gone. The crowd gasped out loud, along with Haku, whose fatigue finally seemed to have bested him. He slid into unconciousness with Emily's arm still clutching him.

**End****Flashback**

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Tears had fallen down the woman's cheeks as she told the story to the man, but neither her husband nor their hired escort mentioned them. When she was finally done re-telling every last detail, Zabuza cocked an eyebrow.

"You're telling me a man disappeared into thin air?" He asked slowly, to make sure he had gotten it right.

"Yes!" She wailed, pressing a tissue to her streaming eyes. "Yes. He would have taken Haku with him if I hadn't. . . " She was unable to continue as she began to weep.

Jaken cleared his throat, stiffly laying a hand on his trembling wife's shoulder. "The police concluded that Emily and the 2 witnesses at the scene were in shock." He said quietly, ignoring the woman's wild glare at him. "They never found a man with the descriptions given, and they had every reason to believe he was simply a kidnapper who'd nearly gotten caught, and had been prepared that time, with a smoke bomb of sorts."

"It wasn't a smoke bomb, Jaken. He disappeared." She repeated, although she knew it would do her no good. Who would believe her, even after all these years?

"I see." Zabuza said, pushing his seat back an inch. Obviously, the poor woman _had_ been in shock, at the thought of having one of her children taken from her. "And you believe this. . . Orochimaru character will be back to get Haku?"

"He said so." She said again.

"Why now?" He wondered aloud. "It's been 10 years, right? Why would he come back for the boy now?"

"He said something about. . . Powers of some sort. Something about magic." She remembered, blowing her nose.

"Magic?" The bodyguard repeated incredulously. "What did Haku say about this 'magic'?"

"He said he didn't know what the man was talking about." Jaken replied. "We never did find out, because we can't ask him again. He seems to have forgotten nearly the entire incident. When we took him to a therapist, she told us it was common for childrens' brains to 'block out' offending memories, or events they deem 'traumatizing', to prevent an emotional disorder."

The conversation continued like that for several more minutes, until Emily finally couldn't take it anymore. Clearly she hadn't blocked it out, and might have developed an emotional disorder from it.

Zabuza stepped out, closing the door behind him, shaking his head. Definitely one of the strangest stories he had ever heard. But regardless of the claims of magic and powers and smoke bombs, he only knew one thing was true: Haku's well-being was his number one priority. Suspicious characters would be watched more than closely. His hog of a boss had been right in that he couldn't afford to 'fuck this up'.

He descended the stairway, the ghost of a smile flitting around his mouth as he saw the long-haired boy sitting on the same white loveseat as the first day. He gave a delighted grin at the sight of the older man, and bounced up out of his seat to a standing position. Zabuza's conscience was happy to see the boy wearing jeans today, albeit perhaps a little too snug to be called normal, and a navy blue top, with a tiny white jacket over top, the bottom of which was well above his midriff.

"Good morning, Zabuza. Did you sleep well?" He asked, and the man nodded, glad the boy hadn't been put off by his abrupt behavior last night. "Mm." He made a noise in his throat, and then glanced into the kitchen, where Bindi was cooking something that smelled fantastic in a large frying pan. "I thought maybe I'd like to go to the park today. It's been a really long time, and the temperature today is perfect." He held up a large camera with what looked like a lot of complicated buttons and knobs on it. "I wanna take some pictures of the butterflies."

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**Review! And like I said, the main focus of Chapter 5 (the one after this one) will be Zabuza and Haku. I'm going to try not to do so much background and filler stuff from now on, okay? xD**

** - Jesse**


	5. Let Me in Your Arms to Feel

**For once I don't think I have anything to say. So just read and review :D**

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"Yeah, your mom told me you were a photographer." Zabuza remarked, a few minutes later, as they sat at the large table in the dining room. Bindi had insisted on giving both of them plates heaping with the breakfast skillet meal she had made, and large frosty glasses of orange juice.

Haku flushed with pleasure before his imminent shyness caused him to lower his face toward the table and peer up at the man through them. "I wouldn't really say I'm a photographer, but I take photos. I love it."

"Well isn't that what a photographer is?"

"I'm not good enough to be a professional or anything." He said honestly, his head perking up at the person who walked in through the dining room entrance. "Good morning, Kisa."

"What's up, Haku?" He said jovially, ruffling the boy's hair before plopping down into the seat next to them. Haku, clearly used to this endearing gesture only rolled his eyes and fixed his hair with his hand.

"I'm going to the park today." The boy answered smugly, taking a bite of his food. Kisame raised a brow before glancing at Zabuza.

"Taking your camera?" He asked, after a moment. Haku nodded happily. "Well, be careful." He replied. The younger brother sighed.

"I know." The words seemed to affect his mood for a moment.

"I know you know. And I know you have Zabuza with you." Kisame eyed the man again. "I just worry sometimes, I can't help it."

"I know." Haku said softer this time. He knew nobody meant anything bad by it, but he was sick of being treated like delicate china.

"If something happened to you, I'd be stuck here with Deidara." Kisame said, mocking a gagging sound. Haku laughed into his glass. Zabuza wondered if the boy's laugh would always make his skin tingle for a second.

"That's not very nice."

"Eh, he can't hear us." The eldest brother winked jokingly. He loved both his brothers dearly, and had no problem with Deidara, but loved to pick on him.

"When do you want to leave, Haku?" Zabuza asked, finishing up his food. Eating quick was a habit he had picked up in prison.

"The sooner the better." The boy answered, smiling. He seemed to be in an incredibly sunny mood, which was definitely a good thing. Although Zabuza wasn't the most cheerful guy around, he would have much rather dealt with a happy teenager rather than a mopey one.

After they had all finished eating, Kisame retreating up to his room, saying something about making a phone call, Haku scampered to the door, camera clutched in hand. "Ready Zabuza?" He said, and the man nodded. "Oh, uh. . ." He paused, turning around. "Do you want to drive me? Or we can take one of the limos or something, we have a chauffeur."

"Whatever you want." The man answered, and watched with interest when Haku's cheeks tinged pink before he could hide it.

"It doesn't matter to me." He said quietly, pressing the camera to his chest, his back turned so Zabuza couldn't see his facial expression.

"Well it doesn't matter to me either." He replied firmly, and watched the boy turn agonizingly slowly.

"You really wouldn't mind driving me?" He said, his voice nearly inaudible.

"Not if that's what you want."

"T-thank you." He said, stumbling on the words. He could feel his face heating up even more, much to his horror and dismay. "I. . . I need to go get a headband. If I d-don't, my bangs will be in my eyes and keep me from getting a good shot!" He said quickly, practically sprinting back up the stairs to his bedroom. Zabuza's eyes widened a bit, before he sighed, leaning back against the staircase. Ok, the kid was blushing. That was either a good sign or a very bad sign. It was definitely a bad sign that he thought it unbearably adorable the way Haku looked with his cheeks all pink and his eyes wide and flustered. Especially since he wasn't sure if the word 'adorable' had ever crossed his mind before.

He came back down, panting, a plain white band across his hair, holding his bangs back, showing brightly against his onyx-colored locks. "Ready?" Zabuza asked him, and he nodded furiously, hurrying out the door.

They were silent pulling out the driveway, the only sounds being Haku's buckle snapping into place. "Thank you, Zabuza." He finally said lowly. "I really appreciate it. . ."

"It's really not a problem." He insisted. His eyes slid over to the side to rest on the dark-haired boy in his passenger seat. Even when he had been wearing the shorts and exposing more skin, Zabuza hadn't really noticed how it looked like fresh cream. It looked unbearably smooth, and feeling a sudden urge to touch it, the man tightened his hand on the steering wheel. _Don't be an idiot, Momochi._

"Still. Thank you." He said again, then hesitated before saying, "You don't know what it's like. To be looked after all the time."

"No." Zabuza shook his head. "I don't."

"Nobody trusts me." The boy said, with the slightest hint of a whine in his voice.

"That's not true." The guardian replied, heaving a breath. "They're just worried about you."

Haku crossed his arms over his chest, propping his knees against the dashboard again like before. When the man looked over at him, he resisted the urge to scoff. For the first time since meeting the boy, Haku had a stubborn pout on his face. "It's true." Zabuza reassured him.

"I know." He said unwillingly. "Kisame and Deidara never had-"

"Kisame and Deidara are different people than you. Different things are best for different people."

"It's just unfair." Haku answered back. Zabuza silently agreed it was unfair, but he also knew that Jaken and Emily were only doing what they thought was best for him. He sighed, sprawling out on the seat, a wing of hair falling over one of his eyes over his band. "Zabuza?" He asked after a moment.

"Yes?"

"What are your parents like?"

Zabuza frowned. Not a subject he'd like to go into at the moment. "Gone." He said, after a moment.

"I'm sorry. . . I didn't mean to mention it, I didn't know you had lost them."

"I didn't lose them. They lost me." Zabuza answered without bitterness in his voice, just stating a simple fact. "I ran away around 15. Haven't seen 'em since."

Haku pondered this for a moment, before looking up with rounded eyes. "You mean. . . You just left?"

"Don't get any ideas, kid." He answered, cocking an eyebrow. Haku rolled his eyes toward the sky, making a gun-like gesture with his hand, pressing his fingers against the side of his skull in a mock-suicide. Zabuza shook his head, unable to resist the urge to chuckle. He hadn't laughed in a long time, but the young boy was proving to be much for his grinch-like sensibilities. "You're a weird kid, you know that?" He said, and Haku grinned a little sheepishly.

"Everyone tells me so."

"Do you mind?"

"Not really." He shrugged. "I used to try to be like Deidara or Kisame. Everyone likes them, they call them 'charismatic'. But I like myself now, even if I'm not 'charismatic'."

That was good to hear, Zabuza thought. He knew from personal experience that not liking yourself posed a lot of problems through life, especially if you envied someone else for their personality and traits. "I think you're charismatic." Zabuza said, before he had really thought about whether he should say it or not.

"Really?" Haku asked, blushing slightly. Zabuza noticed he seemed to be doing that a lot today, although he didn't mention it.

"Well when my boss assigned me this job, I thought I was going to have to take care of some spoiled brat." He confessed, turning the wheel sharply to get a good parking space in the lot before the park.

"Am I?" He asked softly, interlacing his fingers and laying them in his lap.

"Not at all." Zabuza said honestly. He turned the car off tugged the keys out of the ignition, shoving them in the pocket of his loose jeans. "We're here."

"Hope you don't mind a walk." Haku said, smiling as he slammed his door shut. "There's this really neat place kind of deep into those woods over there where I got some really great shots before, but since it's autumn now, they'll look different."

"That's fine." He glanced over as they walked toward the thick forest-like area, and knew this was the same park as in the story Emily had told him about Haku's childhood. He seemed gleeful to be in it, not at all worried or stressed or remembering anything bad. Zabuza guessed he really had just blocked it all out. Which was a good thing, but a little unnerving. "Nature really chills you out." The man remarked, and Haku nodded.

"Yeah." He answered, walking a foot or so ahead of the man, twisting through the trees.

"I thought you said you hadn't been here in awhile."

"I haven't." Haku promised, looking back at him, still walking briskly.

"You're pretty sure of the way to not have been here in awhile."

"I used to come here all the time, almost every day." He explained. Zabuza shrugged, keeping a steady pace with the boy easily. Haku might have known the way to go, but it wasn't difficult for the guard for to keep up. He was much taller than Haku, so his legs were longer.

They didn't say anything for a little while, the only sound being the crunching of fallen leaves under their feet, but finally Haku ducked under a twisty vine, stepping into a kind of clearing. They were less than 50 feet from a swamp of some sort, shallow, with some spots covered in a thin coat of bright green scum, dotted with bright red and orange leaves from the canopy of trees above.

"This it?" Zabuza asked, and Haku nodded.

"Pretty, right?"

"I guess." Zabuza shrugged. He wasn't particularly enthralled by leaves and trees and mucky swamp waters, but he guessed it had a sort of charm. He took a seat on a log, watching the boy intently as he snapped picture after picture. He seemed very much in his element, and even made small squeals or tiny noises of delight when he happened to take one with a butterfly in it.

"Do you keep all those?" Zabuza asked, after what seemed like the hundredth camera click.

"No, I throw most of them away after they're developed. Only a few are really good enough to keep."

"Isn't that kinda wasteful?" The man wondered aloud, and Haku turned, giving him a puzzled look.

"I think we can afford it." He said slowly, and Zabuza couldn't help but chuckle again.

"Yeah, sorry. Forgot for a minute how loaded you people are."

"I'd almost prefer none of it." Haku said sincerely, snapping another picture of a wilting flower.

"You only think that," Zabuza murmured, shaking his head. He watched for another minute, his eyes flashing suddenly, his body reacting almost without thought.

It seemed to happen in slow motion, the boy's eye firmly pressed against the tiny glass plate on the back of his camera leading into the lens. He backed up a few steps, apparently wanting to make the shot perfect, and not at all paying attention to what might be behind his feet. He let out a startled gasp as he lost his footing, tripping over a rather large rock. As best as he could in the one-and-a-half second or so time frame he was given to keep the boy from breaking a bone on the jagged boulder, Zabuza clumsily wrapped a muscled arm around the teenager's waist, trying to turn him, scowling as they tumbled toward the ground, his own tougher body toward the bottom. He told himself it was purely instinct, and not any personal desire to be pressed against the boy that had him cushioning the fall. The impact knocked the breath out of them and left them tangled together like lovers, the somewhat heavy camera slamming into his chest, still clutched in the boy's hand.

After several seconds of neither of them knowing exactly what to do, Haku raised his head, his face a bright shade of crimson, staring into Zabuza's ebony eyes. "S-sorry." He choked out, trying to sit up quickly, freezing when Zabuza hissed in pain. "Oh god, what's wrong?" He cried, one hand covering his mouth daintily.

"Nothing." Zabuza gritted out between his teeth. "I just. . . Banged my ankle on that rock. Don't worry about it. Are you okay?"

"I'm f-fine." He said, afraid to move to hurt the man's ankle further, but even more afraid to stay pressed against him, lest he humiliate himself. Zabuza shifted, his arms gripped Haku's shoulders, pulling them up to an awkward sitting position, grimacing. "Thank you." He said quietly, his young brain racing with thoughts he had never had before. He had never rested against someone's chest before, but now that he was half-way leaning on Zabuza's, he had to resist the urge to snuggle into him.

"Just doing my job." He said gruffly. _Now please get off me before something unfortunate happens. _

"Yeah, I know." Haku squeaked, embarassed at the way his voice came out. His cheeks heated up even more as an idea struck him. His heart slammed up into his chest, his stomach turning to ice at the nervousness he suddenly felt. "But I still appreciate it. . . " He trailed off, leaning forward slightly. His lips brushed over Zabuza's firm mouth, barely skimming, light as a feather touch.

Everything seemed to freeze around them, no noises or movements except both their breath thinly being dispelled, mingling together in the cool, crisp air. It hadn't been long enough or defined enough to even be called a kiss, but Zabuza's pulse had stumbled, and Haku's heart was pounding.

And suddenly, before either of them could think, the man's hand rose to the back of Haku's head, pulling him downward again, pressing their lips together firmly. Slowly, Haku's hands trailed up Zabuza's arms, over his shoulders and into his spiky, coarse hair.

Zabuza felt drunk, his head spinning from the taste of the mouth currently moving against his, and the feeling of inexperienced hands, trembling, moving over his rigid muscles. Haku felt teeth nip at his full bottom lip, and parted them immediately with no thought of repercussions or nervousness or anything. He heard someone moan faintly, just barely realizing it was his own voice. With a noiseless growl, the older male began to tease the boy's tongue with the tip of his own, similarly not thinking of repercussions or nervousness. His mind seemed to have gone blank for the time being, at least while he had the small, but firm body in his arms.

Intuitively, Haku shifted slightly so their bodies were lined up, and for the first time in his life, he felt someone's desire pressed against him in a way that didn't make him feel intimidated or scared or repulsed. It didn't particularly shock him, but it did send a thrilling energy racing up his spine, making him light-headed and imagine all the things this obviously experienced man could do to him.

The hairband had slipped off somewhere during the fall, and Haku's long, straight hair curtained around their faces. The scent of it sent a heat straight to the man's groin and he wanted to bury his face in it to sleep. It smelled earthy and sweet, unlike anything he had ever known before, but undeniably perfect for the boy.

They both heard a twig snap, probably just a raccoon or squirell scurrying across the ground, but it brought both of them back to reality with a nauseating quickness.

Zabuza jerked away, setting his jaw. He could kill himself. He stood quickly, grabbing Haku's hand and yanking him up off the ground coldly. The boy's cheeks were flushed with desire and embarassment, but he gazed down at the ground as Zabuza brushed himself off, sending specks of dirt and leaves flying. When the man spoke, his voice was stiff. "I'm sorry. That was. . . Unforgivable."

Haku's lashes swept up, his eyes bright with hurt. "Sorry?"

"Yes." Zabuza said firmly.

"You think that was a mistake?" He whispered in disbelief. His trembling hand raised up to tuck his hair back behind his ear, and Zabuza bent over to grab the hairband from the dirt, handing it over. He didn't know what to say. He didn't think it was a mistake.

"No." He said finally. "But it can't happen."

"Why not?" Haku breathed, stepping closer to him.

"What do you mean 'why not'?" Zabuza snarled, holding his shoulders at arms-length, as if physically keeping him away. "You're 17. Do you even know how old I am?"

". . . 25?" Haku guessed, biting his lower lip.

"I'm 28. I'm 11 fucking years older than you." He bit out. "And that's definitely not the only problem. I'm here to _protect_ you, not to make out with you in the dirt."

"Can't you do both?" He asked, pulling his camera strap over his shoulder.

"Do you even know what you're asking?"

"I know that I like you. I've never felt this way before, and I don't want to lose it, Zabuza."

Zabuza heaved a sigh, glaring up into the trees above them. How could this have happened to him? Haku cleared his throat, wriggling out of the man's grip, and wrapping his arms around the strong neck again, before whispering, "I think you like me too. You just don't want to say."

"That's because it's wrong to feel this way." Zabuza managed to say, though he couldn't find the presence of mind to push the boy away.

"How can you say that? You didn't think it was wrong before. You kissed me." He murmured. "I liked it."

Zabuza groaned inwardly. "Do you even know what you do to me?" He asked harshly, his hands raising to rest on the younger's waist.

"I've got sort of an idea." He said shyly, raising up on his toes to press their bodies together again. "Zabuza." He said the name again. He loved the way it sounded coming from his own voice.

_This is wrong, Momochi. You don't even know what you're getting yourself into_, the voice snapped at him, flashing like a neon light in his mind. As usual, he ignored it, kissing the boy again, gentler this time. "Well, you're wrong. You have no idea what you do to me." He answered, pulling away again.

"If you let me find out?" Haku asked slyly, and felt Zabuza slightly raise him up so that his feet were no longer touching solid ground.

"You'd be afraid." He said simply, then glanced over back in the direction in which they had come from. "When do you have to be home?"

"Whenever." Haku answered. "As long as you're with me."

"Would you like to go back to my apartment with me?" Zabuza asked in his usual low voice. Haku's cheeks turned red at the implication of the sentence.

"I, um. . . " He trailed off, and the man's eyes widened in realization.

"No!" He said quickly. "No I didn't mean. . . _That_." He clarified, nearly sighing. "I didn't even really mean in my apartment. I just meant near it. You have your camera now. You could take some pictures of the graffiti you liked so much before."

Haku's mouth opened in surprise. "That's such a good idea, thank you!" He cried out, hugging the man tightly before he could stop himself. "I can't believe you even remember. . ."

"It was only yesterday."

"Most people don't listen to what I say at all." Haku answered solemnly, his eyes downcast for a moment before flashing back up again, brightly. He smiled the sweetest, sunniest smile Zabuza had ever seen, and pointed toward where they had entered the clearing at. "Come on, come on, I wanna get these pictures developed sometime soon." He laced his fingers with Zabuza's, tugging him.

"Alright, already. Jeez, don't have a heart attack, kid. Didn't mean to get you all excited." But he was smiling.

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**Totally worth the wait, right? Such a sweet couple. Next chapter coming soon! ^^; R E V I E W!**


	6. Tangled Up in Blue

** Ok I'm getting aggravated about the whole reviewing thing, because I get like 5 story alerts and favorites for this story a day, and hardly any reviews. Do you people realize I don't care if you're putting it on your alerts, there will not be any chapters to read if you don't LET ME KNOW YOU ARE READING IT. And I already have the next chapter uploaded on my document manager but I am not posting it until I get at least 9 reviews. **

** Also, in regard to Naruto and Sasuke's age, yes I know they were not a year older than Haku in the show. I don't care.**

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Zabuza slowed to a stop, parking his car next to a sidewalk, glancing around warily at the loiterers, leaning against the chain-link fence, or playing basketball on the court, or sitting on the curb. All potential endangerments to his mission. His hand drifted under his seat, pulling out a shiny silver handgun, making Haku's eyes nearly bug out of his head.

"Z-Zabuza!" He cried out, hushing after the first syllable, looking around wildly. "You're not allowed to have that. Wat are you thinking, put it away before someone sees!"

"I have a permit." Zabuza growled, shoving the pistol into the waistband of his jeans. "And this isn't a great neighborhood, ok? Just come with me, get your shots, and let's go." He opened the car door, slammed it, walked to the other side, opened Haku's door, and slammed it in a similar fashion. He didn't mention the razor-sharp switchblade he had been carrying every day since before they had met that rested comfortably in his back pocket, since the gun seemed to weird the kid out.

He followed 2 steps behind the entire way, glaring at any sudden movements made by anyone in their general area, hyper aware of every movement, although nobody indicated noticing their presence other than a brief glance.

Haku raised his camera to his eyes, snapping shot after shot sometimes tilting the camera to the left or right, sometimes twisting a large knob around the lens which Zabuza assumed to be some sort of zoom. After about a minute and a half, Haku turned gracefully, holding up his camera in a flashy gesture. "Ok, I think I got enough."

"Got enough what?" A voice asked from somewhere beside them. Both the dark-haired boy and man's faces whipped over to the side, Zabuza's hand jerking to his hip, resting it on the outline of the weapon. The man had short red hair, spiking up in all different directions, and a strange tattoo on the side of his forehead.

"Um, pictures." Haku mumbled, lowering his camera. He didn't say anything else, although he was thinking that to anyone that wasn't completely ignorant would have known he was referring to pictures. What else would he be doing holding a camera?

"Oh is that right? You fancy yourself some kinda journalist takin' pictures of my wall?" The man asked, walking towards them. Zabuza's eyes narrowed, and his fingers tightened.

"Y-your wall?" Haku asked, glancing back at Zabuza who gave him an encouraging look.

"Yeah, my wall, pipsqueak. This has been my wall for years. I don't know if a little money grubbin' yuppie like yourself could appreciate a wall like this. You're probly just out to make a quick buck, huh?" He asked, stopping and grinning arrogantly. Haku couldn't help but notice one of his teeth seemed to be plated in. . . gold? Who was he to call Haku a rich money grubber if he literally had gold on his teeth?

"That wall doesn't belong to you, it belongs to the city, you dumbass." Another voice sounded, a blonde guy in a loose-fitting orange tank top with a basketball under his arm standing next to a guy in a tight-fitting ebony t-shirt and stormy looks on his face. The boy in the t-shirt had hair so black it almost looked blue when the sunlight hit it the right way, and the way it was brushed it covered nearly all his face.

"Oh, look who it is, the resident queers." The red-haired guy raised an eyebrow.

"Fuck off, Gaara!" The blonde shouted back, pointing a finger dramatically. "Or I'll kick your ass like last time."

"Last time was a fluke, pansy boy. I'd destroy you." He snarled. The blonde tossed the basketball behind him, and it was caught by the dark-haired boy.

"Naruto, remember your temper." He said quietly, in a smooth voice. "And your probation."

"I know, Sasuke." Naruto said, turning around and leering at him. "You don't gotta remind me all the time."

"I'm not bailing you out of jail again." He said simply, leaning back against the fence and pulling out a cigarette.

"You hear that, faggot? Your boyfriend's not bailing you outta jail again. How 'bout the hospital, pretty boy?" Gaara sneered in the direction the boy who was apparently Naruto's boyfriend.

Haku's eyes were wide, watching the exchange with avid interest before Zabuza stepped forward, and in front of him, shielding him from anything that might happen suddenly and without warning. The boy peeked his head around, still watching.

"Nor am I waiting for him in the hospital. Not that it's any of your business, Gaara." He answered flatly, lighting the cig elegantly and sucking from it. "Gee, tell me. Where is Ino these days?"

Gaara's face darkened, his eyes flashing with obvious fury. "I don't really know if you wanna go there, you fucking fag."

"Mm, well excuse my curiousity, but I was informed that she left you for someone with a bigger cock."

"That it it, you little queer you're dead!" Gaara snarled, launching himself toward the dark-haired boy, who, predictably didn't flinch. Naruto grabbed the collar of the red-haired man, his fist flying out to knock him in the side of the skull.

"Don't you ever act like you're gonna touch him, motherfucker!" Naruto managed to growl between kicks and punches exchanged between the two. They grappled for a moment, before Zabuza took a step forward.

"Enough!" He yelled into the open air, raising the gun into the air so the sunlight reflected off it. His thumb clicked down over the hammer, showing them all he wasn't joking. Gaara scowled at him.

"Are you fucking serious, man?" He asked, a twinge of fear evident in his earlier tough voice.

"Dead serious." Zabuza spat out. "Now take your punk-ass back where it came from and don't come back until I and my company have vacated the premises. Unless you want your brains splattered all over the sidewalk."

"Whatever, you fuckin' freak, I'm going." He cursed, walking away. Zabuza watched him, eyes narrowed and gun pointed with deadly accuracy at the man's back until he turned the corner. Then the bodyguard turned, first eyeing Haku, then glancing at Naruto and Sasuke.

Naruto stared back at him, finally tilting his head. "What?" He asked. "Do you got a problem with us?"

Sasuke cleared his throat, stepping forward, flicking his now miniscule cigarette to the asphalt. "What my impulsive companion here meant to say was, is there anything else we can help you with, or might we be on our way now?" He said, laying a hand on Naruto's shoulder, ignoring Naruto's groan of protest.

Haku giggled from behind Zabuza, stepping out into the open. It crossed Zabuza's mind that the giggle sounded a lot like Deidara's had, but it didn't give him that weirded-out feeling. "No. No I just didn't like that guy." Zabuza shrugged, tucking the gun safely back into his waistband. Sasuke's hand relaxed on Naruto's shoulder. That could have been trouble, especially with the way his seme's temper could easily be thrown into overdrive, although it rarely happened. Naruto was usually just a goofball, but when sufficiently provoked, it was extremely easy for him to cause a ton of damage to anyone that had pissed him off.

"Hey, what are you doin' walkin' around with that expensive-looking camera, anyway?" Naruto asked, gesturing toward Haku.

"Taking pictures of the wall." Haku said. Naruto grinned smugly.

"Oh yeah?" He walked forward, grabbing Haku's wrist. Zabuza tensed, but forced himself to shrug it off. He wasn't sure if the spasm had come from professional or personal feelings. Naruto pulled him over to the wall, and pointed to a spot among the tons and tons of painted words. "That's my favorite part of the wall." He said smugly, and Haku peered down at it to read.

**Naruto Uzumaki & Sasuke Uchiha Forever **had been painted delicately and neatly, with what appeared to be an extremely steady hand in a bright aquamarine paint. A small heart glowed beside it in the sunlight.

Haku smiled sunnily again, beaming up at Naruto. "Gorgeous." He raised his camera, taking several seconds to tilt it the perfect way and twist the knobs to his desired settings. After snapping the picture, he looked back up at the blonde. "Is it okay if I print it out and use it one of my albums?" He asked, the perfect picture of politeness and sweetness.

"You'll have to ask the artist, not me." Naruto said, turning to face Sasuke, who strolled towards them.

"Think you could get me a copy?" He asked lowly, and Haku nodded eagerly.

"Awww, you want a keepsake of our love." Naruto said in an annoying sing-song voice. Sasuke sighed, rolling his eyes up toward the sky when the blonde planted a wet, smacking kiss on his cheek. Haku laughed as the black-haired boy proceeded to 'wipe it off', but it was obvious he did love Naruto.

"I'm Haku." He said, readjusting his camera strap and hooking his cam into it so he would have both hands free. It struck Zabuza then that Haku didn't seem shy around them, not in the least. Why, how could that be? What was so special about these two street rats that made the lovely dark-eyed boy come out of his shell?, Zabuza wondered, brows furrowing together.

"Nice to meet ya, Haku." Naruto said, Sasuke nodded his agreement.

"If you want, you can come back to my place and wait for me to get the picture developed. It shouldn't take long."

"Do you got a kitchen at your place?" Naruto asked, glaring down at his stomach. "I'm starving."

"Naruto." Sasuke hissed. "Don't-"

"I've got a really big kitchen and a cook." Haku answered quickly before Naruto could get in trouble. "We could all have lunch while we wait."

"Alright!" Naruto said, grinning widely. "Come onnn, Sasuke, don't be a spoilsport, you know you're starving too."

The raven rolled his eyes up toward the sky again, holding out his hand. Naruto grabbed it eagerly, and began pulling him in the direction of Zabuza's car.

"Hi, I'm Naruto and this is Sasuke." The blonde said amicably toward the brown-haired man, as if he hadn't been standing there the entire time. "You don't talk much, do you?" He asked loudly.

"I talk when I have something to say." Zabuza said flatly, opening his car door and clicking the unlock button so the rest of them could pile in. Haku sat in the front seat, smiling as he buckled his seatbelt. "You talk to me a lot, Zabuza."

"I have a lot to say to you." He deadpanned, driving onto the road and towards the Hoshigaki manor.

The three younger males chatted on the way home, mostly Haku and Naruto. "Where do you guys live?" Haku asked.

"An apartment." Naruto piped up. Zabuza looked at Haku quickly and saw what he had expected. A tiny twinge of jealousy had flashed into the cocoa-colored eyes, just for a moment.

"Together?" He asked.

"Yeah, duh." Naruto said, grinning.

"I assume you don't live in an apartment, since your driver seems to be heading away from this side of town, and into the. . . Wealthier area." Sasuke decided on the term, without a hint of bitterness or negativity in his voice and Haku nodded.

"I live in a house. With my parents and 2 brothers. And now Zabuza." He replied. A house? Zabuza thought incredulously. Haku wasn't into bragging, that was for sure. "What's it like living in an apartment with your boyfriend?" He asked, grinning.

"Well, you have a lot of sex." Naruto answered, hissing when Sasuke elbowed him in the ribs. Haku laughed. "What?" He whined, holding back the raven's hand. "Just tryin' the give him an honest outlook on what living with you is like."

"How long have you guys been together?" Haku asked, before Sasuke could growl out an answer to apparently what was the love of his life and the thorn in his side.

"Living together, or. . . Together?" Sasuke asked.

"Together."

"Almost 2 years now." He said, thinking a moment. "But we've been living together about a year."

"Wow, how old are you??" Haku asked, eyes wide.

"18."

Haku sat back in his seat, staring up at the sky through the car's filthy windshield once again. It must be nice, he thought to himself. To just be with the person you love. Without anyone telling you what to do or where to go. Zabuza's eyes slid over to him, and narrowed.

"Chin up boy." He grunted. "You won't live with your parents forever."

"Kisame does." Haku said softly.

"Who's Kisame?" Naruto asked, completely oblivious to the sudden tension in the air.

"My older brother." Haku explained, distracted for the time being. "Kisame and Deidara are my older brothers. They'll probably be home."

"Deidara Hoshigaki?" Sasuke asked in a hushed tone, and Haku nodded slowly, a questioning look on his face.

Sasuke made a disgusted sound in his throat before his breath hissed out between his teeth. "Can I smoke in your car?" He asked louder.

"Whatever." Zabuza answered, unperturbed. After all, it had been fairly recent since he himself had stopped smoking cigarettes, and he had smoked in his car an innumerable amount of times.

Sasuke lit another, drew on it and sighed, sulking. Naruto grinned.

"Aww come on, Sasuke. It's been awhile since we saw your best friend."

"Shut up." The raven answered.

"Do you know Deidara?" Haku asked balefully, and Naruto snickered. Sasuke hished him with a single, glaring look.

"Yes." He answered simply.

". . . You don't like him?" Haku asked.

"I don't want to talk bad about your brother, ok?" Sasuke said. He clearly liked Haku, and wanted no ill will between them.

At Haku's still puzzled look, Naruto spoke. "We just used to see him a lot at raves and stuff. Sasuke thinks he's a huge slut." He blurted out, yelping when the black-haired boy hit him in the same spot in his ribs.

"A. . . slut?" Haku asked after a minute, eyes huge. Raves? He wondered if Emily knew exactly where Dara was going and what (Or who, he thought, blushing) he was doing when he went 'out'.

"Yeah a lot of guys say they've done him." Naruto said, quick enough this time to block the fist.

"Naruto, shut up." Sasuke snapped. "It's incredibly rude to talk about someone in front of their family."

"No." Haku said quickly. "No, it's okay, I just. . . I didn't know." He managed. His eyes lowered. Zabuza didn't say anything, but remembered the odd feeling he had gotten while talking to the long-haired blonde the previous night in the hallway. He was sure Naruto and Sasuke were telling the truth.

"Sorry." Naruto said. "But you seem cool." He said, making the boy smile.

"Thank you."

* * *

When they were all inside the entrance hall, Haku glanced around. "I'm going to find Bindi really quick and ask her to make us something for lunch, ok?" He said, hurrying off.

"I suppose that's my cue to lead you two into the kitchen." Zabuza said flatly. He gestured , and began walking, the two of them following at his heels.

"Whoa, I thought Haku said he lived in a house, not a fuckin' castle." Naruto said loudly.

"It's a manor, idiot. Not a castle." Sasuke corrected.

"Well whatever, it's huge in here!"

"They have a butler." Zabuza said under his breath, and Naruto's eyes widened.

"Whoa." The blonde breathed out, and the man nodded. It had been his thoughts exactly.

As they made their way into the kitchen and sat at the high marble counter, Zabuza looked around. He didn't blame Naruto for being shocked, he had been too, when he had first seen the huge house. He still was a little bit, he supposed. And he hadn't even seen Haku's studio yet. Sasuke didn't seem too surprised by it all. He wondered if the raven had been exposed to money at one point or another in his life. Before he could ask, he looked up, and cleared his throat. Deidara strolled in, seemingly cheerful as usual. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Sasuke tense in what could only be described as a cat ready to pounce. . . And not in a good or playful way.

"Afternoon, Zabuza, un. Kisa told me you took Haku to the par- . . ." He trailed off, his mouth turning down into a frown. "Ew. What are you doing in my house, Uchiha?"

"What are you doing off your knees, Hoshigaki?" Sasuke countered, drawing on his cigarette. He blew the smoke lightly but directly into the blonde's face.

"I'm getting a drink, un." He said pointedly, clearly unbothered by the claim of his promiscuity. "After all, this is my refrigerator. And you never told me what you're doing here."

"He's my guest, Dara." Haku spoke up from the doorway, leaning into it, his bottom lip caught between his teeth.

Deidara glanced at his brother, back at Sasuke, and then at his brother again. "Un. Whatever." He said, pouring his drink and setting it on the counter a little harder than necessary. He glanced over at Naruto, who had a slightly vacant expression on his face. "I just feel bad for your boyfriend, Uchiha, un. Having to sleep with some prude priss. I mean, you're practically a virgin, right? It can't be very good."

Sasuke bit back the comment bubbling on his tongue as he saw the plump maid walk in, smiling warmly. "Haku tells me you guys are ready for some lunch."

"Yeah!" Naruto said, and Sasuke sighed. Haku giggled.

"No thanks, Bindi." Deidara said airily, giving her a dazzling smile. "I'm going out." He called over his shoulder as he strolled from the kitchen.

"Thank you, Bindi. Afterwards, we're going down to my dark room and I'm developing some pictures." Haku said after Deidara was out of sight.

"Alright." She said, and began pulling out spices and whatnot from the various cabinets. She didn't claim to be a genius, but she had known Deidara and Haku long enough to know when tension was thick in the air between them. Haku sat on one of the tall stools, setting his camera on the counter.

"Sorry, Sasuke." He said sincerely, and Sasuke looked at him, puzzled.

"For?"

"I can tell you don't like Deidara, and-"

"He's your brother. It's not like you brought him around me on purpose." He said. "You can't choose your friend's siblings." He shrugged.

"Friend?" Haku asked, blushing a little before he could hide it.

"Yeah, duh." Naruto said. "We're in your house, aren't we?" He grinned toothily.

Zabuza surpressed the urge to grin along with the hyperactive blonde. His happiness was infectious, much like he felt about Haku's. "I-I guess so." Haku said, beaming. He had never really had friends before. He had never gone to a public school, or been around children his own age except maybe Deidara. And just in the last 2 days, he felt like he had made 3 good friends.

* * *

"Some of these are really good, Haku. You're great for someone who hasn't had any professional training." Sasuke told him as he thumbed through one of the thick leather-bound books.

"Thank you." Haku said politely. He pulled another one out of a high drawer in a large filing cabinet and handed it to his companion. "I put most of my favorites into this book." It was about 3/5 of the way full, Sasuke noticed, before flipping to the first page and peering at them.

They were all 4 sitting on the comfortable furniture in the basement of the house, which Haku had introduced as his 'studio'. He had already gone into his dark room, dipped a few of the pictures he had taken that day in the water, and hung them up on the wire by a clothespin, leaving them there and returning back to the room with his friends.

"When did you start?" Naruto asked, peering over his lover's shoulder at the book.

"Around twelve, I guess." Haku said. "I started out just taking pictures with a digital camera and getting them printed out at a shop, but after a while, I got better equipment and practiced more."

"Hey, I like this one." Naruto said, snatching the book up out of Sasuke's lap to look at it closer, much to the raven's dismay.

"Which one?" Haku laughed at the dark-haired boy's annoyed expression.

"This one." Naruto pointed at it, a picture in what looked to be an insanely bright and colorful patch of red and yellow tulips, complete with fat bumblebees and sleek butterflies. It looked just like a picture that would be on the back of a postcard, except in the dead center was a rose. It looked shockingly dark against everything around, almost like a sign of wickedness among everything bright and happy and good. It's thorns were deadly sharp. Haku beamed with pleasure.

"I love that one, too! I took it, um. . . When my family went on vacation a few years ago." He explained. "I saw that one rose among all those tulips and just _had_ to take a picture. It made me think of. . . Someone very misunderstood."

"Misunderstood?" Zabuza asked in a hushed tone, and Haku nodded.

"Yes. It looks ugly, with all the other flowers around it, because it's different. But. . . Just because it's different doesn't mean it's not as good. That's what I think, anyway."

"I wonder how it grew there." Naruto said, scratching his chin in a mock genius gesture, obviously missing the deep symbolism in Haku's words.

"Me too." Haku said cheerfully, plopping down beside them. "I'm just glad I got to see it."

"Oh!" Sasuke hissed. "Look what time it is."

"Oh man, it's already 11:00!" Naruto said, eyes huge. "Whoa, we've been here all day!"

"Sorry!" Haku said quickly, standing immediately. "I guess I just lost track of the time, and. . . Oh, I don't know if your picture is finished yet!" He said in despair.

"It's fine." Sasuke said quickly. "We can come back and get it tomorrow."

"Yeah and then maybe we could all go hang out or something." Naruto chirped, as he bounded up the concrete stairs up to the main portion of the house. Haku got a fluttery feeling in his chest at the invitation.

"That would be great." He said softly, rubbing his wrist.

* * *

**Sasuke and Deidara rivalry. Haha, can anyone say 'catfight'? xD**

** Anyway, just to clarify, I have nothing against Gaara, I just couldn't think of another antagonist to use, and he seemed like someone that would be good for just a small part. And noo, I don't think Naruto is an absolute retard like he seems. I love the kyuubi, even though he IS a bit of a goofball. Don't forget to review or I can't update this lovely story!**


	7. No Need to Speak Up

**Oh man, I'm having fun writing this fic. It's just got so many interesting plot points and twists, and I'm always thinking of new things to add, like Naruto and Sasuke. I love the Narusasu pairing (And it IS Narusasu. I can't stand Sasunaru it's SO wrong and I could go on a serious rant along with my partner in crime but I'll spare you), and I'm thinking of having a few more, too. I just hope it doesn't get too out of hand xD**

* * *

Haku stared up at his ceiling, eyes darting restlessly on the swirly designs. He should have been exhausted, it was past midnight, but his mind was buzzing. They had driven Naruto and Sasuke home, and before they had gotten back to his own house, Zabuza had kissed him again. It was quicker than the first time, but it had made Haku's pulse quicken. He couldn't believe Zabuza actually _liked _him. He was nice to him, and did favors for him, like driving him wherever he wanted, which wasn't necessarily part of his job description. He sighed wistfully, glancing over at his window, where moonlight seeped in like melting candle wax. But what had he done for the man?

Haku's eyes widened a little as he sat up, blanket pooling to his waist. Nothing, he supposed. Nothing but ask him for favors and get in his way. In fact, now that he thought about it, what could Zabuza possibly see in him that he found attractive? How could he be so stupid? Zabuza wasn't going to keep liking him if he didn't do something for him. He groaned a little in his throat, frustrated.

What are _you_ going to do? You aren't good at anything, Haku thought. His brows furrowed together as he brought his knees up to his chest and layed his chin on them.

True, he wasn't very skilled at anything, but there had to be something he could do to please the man.

His head perked up a little as a thought burst itself into existence inside his mind. The memory of Naruto in the back of Zabuza's car, grinning and explaining that he and Sasuke had a lot of sex. His cheeks heated up as he remembered Zabuza's obvious erection digging into his thigh when they had lain together in the forest, the first time they had kissed.

He shifted a little, lashes lowering over his eyes as the memory of Deidara ridiculing Sasuke for only having been with one person, claiming he probably wasn't very good because of that. Well, he had never even been with one person, so. . . He was probably going to be awful.

But maybe he could get better with practice. Haku sighed again, standing up and moving in front of the full-length mirror propped on his bedroom wall. He frowned at his reflection. His eyes were big, too big. It reminded him of an owl or something. And he was so skinny. Not gorgeous and slim like Deidara and Sasuke, just plain scrawny. He lifted the bottom hem of his shirt and frowned again at his body. He didn't supose he had any muscle mass at all. He smiled a little as he remembered how tough Zabuza's muscles had been in his arms, and how hard his chest had been. He had to do something to make Zabuza happy, and this was definitely the right thing to do. He nodded to himself in the mirror, eyes determined. Anyway, he couldn't be _so_ bad at it. He and Deidara had the same genetics, and apparently Dara was quite good at it.

Probably too good, Haku thought bitterly. He really had had no idea about his brother being so. . . Experienced. He felt anger simmering in his blood as the thought occured to him that Deidara had experienced sex with multiple guys before Haku had even gotten his first kiss. Well, he would show Deidara. He could do whatever he wanted, too.

* * *

Haku's breathing was so shallow he was surprised he didn't pass out from lack of air. The door clicked shut with nearly perfect silence. Zabuza's bedroom door, that is.

He was trembling, his hands shaking as he walked over to the bed, where Zabuza laid, obviously dead asleep. Haku had already worked out in his mind exactly what he needed to do.

He gulped quietly, shaking his head quickly. It was scary, but this was what he had to do to keep Zabuza happy. He tucked a stray lock of hair behind his ear, and hoisted himself up on the mattress. He was glad it was firm enough that it didn't sink at Haku's weight. He carefully, barely touching the man, moved half-way over him.

The boy's thighs were firmly straddling the bodyguard's hips, his hands resting carefully on the hard chest. He leaned forward, his hair streaming down, almost touching Zabuza.

There, he had done it. That wasn't so hard. And the man was still fully asleep, he hadn't even stirred. Haku felt an uneasy pleasure ripple through his entire body, as he tugged his nightshirt up over his head and tossed it somewhere behind him.

Moving slowly, he pressed his lips to the man's collarbone softly. Gaining confidence, his tongue darted out to flick at it, and his lips suckled it. The man tasted amazing, not like how Haku would have imagined someone's skin tasting. His hands glided up the hard chest, feeling the muscles bunch and tighten beneath his palms, a quiet groan escaping Zabuza's lips, the vibrations from his throat occuring against Haku's mouth.

The man was still asleep, but his body had tensed. He was liking it, Haku realized, and nearly squeaked when he moved back and felt the huge arousal pressed firmly against the backs of his legs. He was definitely liking it.

His mouth moved down from the collarbone gliding over his guard's chest and hard abs. Jeez, Zabuza was built. No wonder he never got scared at the thought of a fight or someone wanting to hurt him.

He paused at the waistband of Zabuza's pants. What was he supposed to do now? The man still hadn't waken up, although he was rock hard, his cock pressed against his boxers and pants. Haku took a deep breath, and slid his fingertips under the elastic, tugging gently, his breath shuddering out anxiously.

"Nn, Haku." The boy's head whipped up at the man's quiet moan, eyes huge. He was still asleep. But. . . He must have been dreaming. _About me_, Haku realized, blushing crimson. He nearly jumped out of his skin when large hands raised to grip his sides.

"Z-Zabuza." He murmured. He wanted the man to wake up, but he didn't want to shock him or wake him up rudely. His quivering hand grasped the zipper and pulled it down, quickly pushing the pants down until they rested on the man's lower hips. All that was left was the boxers. He lowered his palm, pressing it to the rigid bulge through cotton. The man groaned again, his face turning slightly. Haku squeezed his eyes shut and slid his hand under the waistband of the underwear, his fingers brushing the smooth head of Zabuza's arousal. It was warm and although it was rock-hard, the skin was soft like velvet.

He slid his fingertips down the shaft, wrapping his hand around it, loving the tiny moan that tumbled out of the man's mouth. He pumped it once, feeling the tiniest bit of sticky precum at the slit. Breathing as shallowly as before, he moved his hand the way he knew would make Zabuza feel good.

_Zabuza growled in his throat, tumbling the boy down onto the mattress, settling between his silky thighs. He felt Haku shuddering beneath him, his arms coming up to wrap around the bodyguard's neck and shoulders, their mouths fusing together. "Ohh, Zabuza." He moaned, arching his back, desperate for any sort of friction against his leaking cock. "I need you." _

_ "Haku." He groaned, grinding their lower bodies together, nearly losing himself in the urgent look in his lover's eyes. He finally couldn't take it anymore, moving off the boy, much to his dismay, and grabbing a bottle of clear oil. _

Zabuza was panting harshly now, his facial muscles flexing and tensing. Haku knew he must be doing a good job. He had never done anything like this before, and although he was nervous, he had never been more turned on in his life. The way Zabuza's body felt under his hands, hard and rough and steady. He knew the man could do anything to him and for him. He ignored the burning ache between his own legs, knowing that wasn't what was important now. And anyway, watching the obvious pleasure on the man's face was worth any amount of uncomfortable pulsing to Haku.

_"Ahh, please!" Haku whimpered, his hot face pressed against the man's shoulder as the 2 skilled fingers moved inside him. "Take me now." Zabuza's head was spinning, his body begging him to comply with the boy's wishes. _

_ When he was fully sheathed inside, he felt one of his young lover's hands clench his back, the other gripping the bedsheets beneath them. He was so incredibly perfect, his skin completely flawless, his body moving in perfect rhythm with everything Zabuza had done. The long, slender legs were now tight around his hips, as if he never wanted the man to leave his body. _

_ He thrust in deeply, moving out almost completely before sinking back in again, the sounds of soft cries and low growls filling the bedroom. "Come for me, Haku." He commanded hoarsely, feeling the fire in his belly. _

_ "I-I am!" Haku moaned, his legs gripping tighter, his body quivering. He threw his head back, crying out Zabuza's name loudly. The man felt hot liquid splash up onto their chests, and couldn't help but follow with a loud moaning curse. His last thought as he emptied himself deep inside the writhing, sweaty body beneath him was that he had finally found where he belonged. _

Haku inhaled sharply as Zabuza let out a low moan, his hips bucking up, the muscles at the base of his member tightening. Hot cum spurted out and through the boy's fingers, pearly white. Haku was throbbing by now, and wanted nothing more than to just leave and bring himself to climax in his own bedroom. He had never felt so needy, not when it came to sexual desires, didn't even know anyone could feel so in need of release. He wondered what the man's rough, calloused hands would feel on his body, touching his cock. He bit his lip, letting out a needy little whimper, shaking his head. He couldn't do that here, not in Zabuza's bed.

Suddenly, and with absolutely no warning, Zabuza's eyes fluttered once, then opened completely, his body still caught in the pleasure of the dream and his climax, and the soft hand gripping him. Haku gasped involuntarily as their eyes locked, neither of them moving for 3 full heartbeats.

Before his mind could even comprehend what was going on, he noted the obvious bulge in Haku's pajama pants, and the fact that his now soft cock was still in the boy's hand, cum dripping down from it. The image nearly made him hard again.

"Haku, what are you doing!?" The man finally snapped, shoving the boy off him, pushing him down on the mattress while he sat up and composed himself, trying desperately not to stare at his companion's crotch. Trying not to imagine the skin under his clothes, how it would be hot as fire now that he was so horny.

"I was p-pleasing you." Haku stuttered, knowing his face must have been a nuclear shade. His throat felt raw and scratchy.

_That's for sure. _ Zabuza ignored the voice again, shocked beyond belief. How was it this teenage boy could sneak past all his defenses, and catch him completely unaware twice? He was a trained assasin, for god's sake. He had killed at point blank range, and could sense trouble miles away. He had literally dodged bullets, and blades. But he couldn't sense when some boy was practically laying on top of him? "Haku, this. . . This is crazy, what were you thinking!?" He said, running a hand through his hair, panting heavily still from what had felt like a heart attack, but he knew was just a strong orgasm.

"I was thinking you would want it. You were liking it." Haku said, a whine evident in his voice. He felt like he was getting reprimanded, something he definitely wasn't used to. And especially not from someone that meant so much to him, that he would do anything to make happy.

Zabuza breathed through his teeth, and finally forced himself to meet Haku's eyes. The boy's pretty face was bright red, his eyes wide with embarrassment, despair, and unspeakable need. He knew how had it must have been for the shy kid to actually work up the courage to come in here, and. . . Touch him like this. But what could have convinced him that this was right? "Haku, I'm not mad at you."

"I thought you were." He whispered, hanging his head, his hair streaming down over his face.

"No, not at all." He growled, resisting the logical thing to do, which would be to not touch the boy at all for a little while, until his system cooled down. It wasn't wise to feel his satin skin and kiss his entirely-too-crushable lips while his body was still heated, still tingling from pleasure. But he wrapped the boy up in his arms, holding him tightly. He had never held anyone like this before, the need to comfort and soothe quite foreign to him. Never before had someone's else emotions affected him so terrifyingly strong. "I'm not mad at you, but. . . Why did you think you needed to come in here and do this?"

"I thought it's what you wanted. You do want it, don't you?" He asked, looking up, thankful his eyes hadn't filled with tears yet like he had feared for a few moments they would.

Zabuza hesitated. Lying to the boy wouldn't do them any good. "Yeah. But just because I want it doesn't mean you should."

"I want to make you happy." Haku choked out.

"This isn't the way, it's not right for you." Zabuza said, more roughly than he had meant to.

"But Deidara. . ." Haku trailed off, looking to the side.

"Deidara has nothing to do with this!" Zabuza snarled, gripping the boy's shoulders and looking him straight in the face, ignoring the blink of shock from the brown orbs. "You have _got_ to stop thinking of other people when you make a decision. Just be yourself."

"I just wanted you to like me." He said sullenly.

"I like you when you're being yourself." He promised harshly. "What did I tell you before? Kisame and Deidara are different people than you."

"I know. I'm sorry." He said softly. He peeked up at Zabuza through his thick lashes. His mouth trembled open when the man gripped his chin hard in his hand, raising his face so they were level.

"Don't be sorry." He said flatly. "I just. . . I was surprised when I woke up. You shouldn't be in here, you know."

"I know."

"I don't want. . ." Zabuza trailed off, clearing his throat. "I don't want your family to know about us." Haku knew that as well, had known from the beginning. But he would have hidden anything from anyone to keep the man. He had never known anyone like Zabuza, and had never known anyone could invoke such feelings in his body, mind, and heart.

"Because you're older?"

"That, and I don't want them to think I'm like Pain." He said slowly. Haku tried to turn his face away, mortified, but couldn't, because of the man's strong grip.

"This isn't like that." He said quietly.

"I know that. And you know that. But they might not understand, okay?"

"Okay." Haku said in acceptance, his eyes fluttering closed in happiness when the man sealed their lips together for a kiss.

"Now get out of here." Zabuza said, raising an eyebrow. "We're lucky someone hasn't heard us yet."

"Yeah." Haku sighed, rolling out of the bed and standing a little uneasily. He scooped up his discarded shirt and glanced down at his sticky hand. "But I think I'm going to take a shower before I go back to bed."

Zabuza exhaled, not wanting to think of the boy in the shower. "See you in the morning."

"Yeah, okay." Haku whispered, creaking open the door, and stealing one last glance before shutting it.

* * *

He sighed, leaning back against the cool tile of the shower wall, letting the warm water wash over him, sticking his long hair to his back and face and arms. He pulled it off his face and arms, pulling it back behind him so he could rinse his face off under the hard spray.

The water was hot enough to steam the bathroom like a sauna, but not too hot that it wasn't soothing to the skin. As he lathered his hair with the rich shampoo, he could still hear Zabuza's moans and growls in his ears. The way he had panted, the way his rigid muscles had twitched.

Haku shifted, clearing his throat as his thoughts caused the blood to pool in his groin. He moaned a little, his hands twitching on the shampoo bottle as he gazed up at the ceiling. He had stopped himself from jacking off on Zabuza's bed (Thank goodness, too. He would have died of embarassment if the man had caught him.), and the edgy ache he had felt had eventually dispersed, leaving only the dull sensation of unfulfillment. But now that he was by himself, and nothing was going to stop him from getting rid of the awful feeling of needing sexual release.

He let his hand trail down his wet chest and stomach, and rest between his legs, cupping his own erection. He hissed, the breath ending on a whimper as he caressed himself in the way he rarely, rarely did.

He wondered what it would be like if Zabuza were in the heated shower with him. Steam and water making their bodies slick and sinuous, their kisses unbearably hot and wet. He knew the man could lift his body with ease, and press him up against the tiled wall, sucking his neck and chest and lips, growling in that unbelievably sexy low voice he had.

He could be confident and not be nervous or afraid with Zabuza. He would toss his dark hair behind him and flutter his long lashes in invitation at him, the way he had seen Deidara do many times, even to people he had no interest in. He would know that the man loved and adored and craved his body, and not feel insecure about it.

He knew his bodyguard would want to be incredibly thorough, touching and licking and nipping every inch of his writhing, soaked body, before moving back up to kiss him in that dizzying way again, telling him how sexy he was, how much he wanted him. His voice would come out hoarse and full of need for him, and Haku would open for him without hesitance, his legs lifting as high up on the muscled body as he could, making it easy for the man to get to what he wanted, to drive into the heated, untouched passage between the boy's milk pale thighs.

Haku moaned out loud, then pressed his other hand to his mouth to muffle the noises. He knew anyone walking by the bathroom could hear him, though it was doubtful anyone would be up in the middle of the night. His hips started bucking of their own accord, in beat with his hand.

He could lucidly see in his mind Zabuza's strong hands supporting his long legs, trapping him between the hard wall and the man's hard body. He wanted to feel the rough, calloused palms and fingers molding his skin and hips and ass, feel the sharp teeth and brutal mouth crushing down on him everywhere. His teeth dug into his lower lip, his hand clamping down against his lips harder, as his voice got louder, his hips more urgent.

He continued stroking himself, his head lolling forward, his back arched like a bow, barely supporting himself on shaky legs against the wall. He wondered how deliciously stretched he would feel with his guard's thick member inside him. If he would be frenzied and rough, or if he would be tender and controlled. With the most fleeting tiny feeling of guilt and confusion, the boy discovered he wanted to know what it would feel like to be handled roughly and with abandon. To have someone not be worried about him shattering like glass and just make him feel something. Maybe even leave a few bruises on him. Zabuza could certainly leave bruises on him.

With that thought, he came hard, with a loud cry, ending on a shaky moan of the brown-haired man's name, his body quivering and jerking helplessly as his seed streamed from him down into the water beneath his feet, his toes curled so hard he was surprised it didn't give him cramps. It lasted longer than anything he had ever felt before and by the time he floated down from his orgasm, he wanted to sink bonelessly down onto the shower floor and sleep.

Still panting slightly, he rinsed the light sheen of sweat from his body, and towel-dried himself quickly, collapsing into his bed without another thought. But his dreams were sweet and filled with happiness.

* * *

**Jeeeeez, this chapter took me FOREVER to write, you guys have no idea. Most of them only took a few hours in total, but this one seemed to take at least 3x the amount of effort as any of them before. But a good chapter, no? I'm sure you guys were craving some kind of sex, even though I haven't really had a lemon yet (Zabuza's dreams don't count xD). Anyway, leave a review as usual please!**


	8. Can't Get No Satisfaction

**I had a thought, while typing up this chapter, that some parts of my story didn't exactly sit well together, and I just wanted to clarify them. The part where Gaara ridicules Naruto and Sasuke for being gay would lead one to believe that in the particular universe this story takes place in, homosexuality is frowned upon, or just not very common. But then, the fact that both the main characters, one of the brothers (so far), and two of the side characters are gay would lead one to assume that being gay is quite a normal thing, and nothing to be shocked about at all. Well, I intended for it not necessarily to be "frowned upon" by everyone (Although just like in the real world, some prefer to insult what they don't understand), but also not to be the normal, everyday thing, even though most (pretty much all xD) of the characters this story focuses on are gay. Well, yeah, it's a yaoi-based fanfiction so of course the statistical ratio of homosexuality to heterosexualiy is going to be much higher than that of reality. I just didn't want anyone to be confused or think I wasn't paying attention to my story plot. Happy reading, as always :) **

* * *

Zabuza shifted, one eye lazily opening, glancing around, it's twin sliding open to full awareness to match it. Before he could even have a thought of the warm comforter surrounding his body, or the nice mattress under him as he had thought of before, the memories of the previous night's activities assaulted his mind, sending him an odd mix of excitement, guilt, and pride. How could he feel pride? What was there to be proud of? He had somewhat manipulated a sweet, innocent youth into finding him desirable, at least to his mind's thinking.

True, he had never lied to Haku about anything, but he doubted the boy understood the full extent of his life. What he had been through, what he had seen. What he had caused. Whatever his feelings were, one thing remained the same as when he had met the boy at the base of the tall marble stairs. He would not fail his mission and allow harm to come to Haku. Nothing too threatening had happened yet, but Zabuza knew all too well from experience that the worst kinds of trouble often came from still waters. And even though he wasn't quite sure he believed the hysterical mother, he couldn't stop thinking of this Orochimaru character.

He shifted, sitting up, when he heard a tentative knock at the door. A knock so quiet he knew it couldn't be the flashy Deidara or the cheerful Kisame. It could have been a maid, but he was sure it was Haku. It was as if the kid had a sense about him, when he knew Zabuza was thinking of him. Then again, Zabuza thought, there was rarely a time he wasn't thinking of him. He had never let any person or thing invade the privacy of his thoughts so much, distracting him from minor things. And he wasn't exactly sure how he felt about that yet.

"Come in." The boy walked in shyly, arm slung across his chest, holding his opposite arm. He glanced up at the man's eyes, seeming to gauge the situation. When the guard's dark eyes weren't cold or haughty like he knew some people's could be, he smiled a little.

"Breakfast, sir. They told me to come tell you."

"I think I need to take a shower first, don't you?"

Haku blushed a little, but his grin remained. And if Zabuza wasn't mistaken, he could see a smidgen of teasing in it. "Whatever you think is best." He retorted, stepping over to the foot of the man's bed, his hair moving with the air. Zabuza noted navy blue shorts with a white belt strung in between the loops, ending in a fat ivory ribon bow perched on one of the narrow hips, albeit not nearly as short as the ones he had been wearing on their meeting day, and a dark blue t-shirt. He also noted that he had never given a damn what anyone had ever worn before, but now that he knew Haku it seemed like the most interesting thing on the face of the planet.

"My mind is a little muddled. A shower might clear it." He admitted in a mocking formal tone, as if they hardly knew each other.

"Oh. Didn't you sleep well?" Haku knew how to play along.

"I can't complain. But there were a few times my sleep was interrupted." He passed by the boy on his way to the bathroom connected his own room, their bodies brushing, the contact of skin like an electric shock to Haku.

"How many times?" He asked, watching the man stroll to the bathroom door, the pajama pants he himself had pulled down the night before slung low on his sharp hips.

"Once." Zabuza said simply, closing the door behind him, and effectively getting the last word.

Haku smiled giddily, turning a circle, his hands clasped on his chest because he knew nobody could see him to make fun of him, or suspect him of being too happy. When he heard the shower turn on, water drops slapping the hard tile floor, he tried not to imagine the man under the hot spray of water.

He figured the best way to distract himself would be to get downstairs and begin eating.

* * *

"You look happier than a lark, Haku." Kisame commented, tossing the last bite of his 3rd piece of French toast into his mouth.

"Oh?" Haku asked, eyeing him warily, pouring syrup over his crispy pieces. "I suppose so. I got some nice pictures yesterday."

"And made some friends." Deidara inserted innocently, gazing up at them over a frosty glass of juice.

"Yes." Haku said softly. Kisame glanced at them simultaneously, before grabbing a fourth piece.

"Well. That's good." He said decidedly, leaning back in the wooden chair, all too aware of the implication in his younger brothers' voices. All three of them glanced at the doorway from the living room when Zabuza strolled in. All 3 pairs of eyes were on him, but unaware to him, his eyes locked on only one of the members of the Hoshigaki family.

"Good morning." Kisame said pointedly, and Zabuza glanced up from Haku to him. He could see where the escort's obviously undivided attention lay, but he figured that had something to do with his occupation.

"Morning." He said, taking a seat. He eyed the large platter in the middle of the table, still heaping with food.

"You should eat, un." Deidara suggested after a minute. Zabuza glanced at him absently.

"Alright." He said agreeably, helping himself to a few pieces of the sweet fried bread. "Did you sleep okay, Haku?"

Haku's eyes widened a little bit, in confusion, then realization. His bodyguard was trying to be subtle, he realized. Because they were in front of other people. He felt shameful and guilty when the thought occured to him that he'd rather Kisa and Dara just go away, so the man would give him those long, intense looks with his dark eyes. Or one of those slow smiles, that took forever to go from his eyes to his mouth that nearly made Haku sick with love for him.

Love, he thought, feeling a flutter of panic, and then warmth immediately after it. He thought he might be in love with Zabuza. But that was ridiculous. . . Wasn't it? He'd only known the man a few days. He couldn't possibly fall in love that fast, could he?

"Yes. I slept fine, thank you." He said, hesitating before adding, "I was a little warm, though."

Before Zabuza could cough into the drink he had lifted to his lips, Bindi blissfully unaware, strolled into the kitchen. "Well, it's a good thing I made enough. It's nice to have the house full again, although you're all men." She mused, laying a hand on her generous hip. "An awful lot of testosterone in this house, if you ask me. Maybe a pretty girl is what some of you nee-"

"You know." Kisame said, clearing his throat, and pushing away from the table, standing quickly. "I just forgot I'm a little pressed for time. Breakfast was wonderful, as usual, Bindi." He said, flashing her a dazzling smile before heading towards the door. "I've got a, er. . . Previous engagement, so I'll see you all later."

"Bye." Dara and Haku said in unison. Kisa had escaped the "A pretty, sweet girl will make you happy" lecture. They didn't get it anymore, Bindi was starting to accept the fact that girls, pretty and sweet or otherwise, weren't really what either of them were interested in, but she still seemed to think Kisa was in need of one.

Haku wasn't exactly sure what his eldest brother needed in terms of love. He had never known of a woman or a man that Kisame had been interested in, he had always kept his personal life very private from the rest of them, even Jaken and Emily.

"And what about you, Mr. Momochi?" Bindi asked, clearing plates sticky with powdered sugar and syrup from the table.

"Hm?" He grunted, putting down his fork and turning toward her.

"Do you have a beautiful woman waiting for you somewhere?"

Haku nearly snorted gleefully, but managed to hold it in and keep cool and composed while the dark-haired man stared at her like she had asked him if he had a rocketship capable of flying to the moon waiting for him.

"No." He answered flatly.

"Ever been married?" She asked conversationally, stacking them up on her arm and laying them in the sink.

"No." He answered again, cocking an eyebrow.

"Well. You don't say much, but you get your point across." She said, smiling brilliantly. "Any plans for today?" She asked, her words directed at the three of them.

"I think I might just relax today." Deidara answered, shrugging. "I might go out, un. Haven't really decided yet."

"Zabuza and I are bringing something over to Naruto and Sasuke." Haku answered, after the blonde was finished. "I think we might just hang out with them all day."

"Well." Bindi nodded. "Have fun and be careful, both of you."

"I don't need to be careful." Haku said, quietly, but haughtily. "I mean, that's what Zabuza was hired for, right?" His eyes seemed to bore into the woman, her having obviously said something that touched a nerve with the boy.

"Well, you know what I mean." She said, waving off the comment, and heading determinedly cheerful to the kitchen, where she would wash up the morning dishes. She hadn't been housemaid to the Hoshigaki brothers for the better part of their lives without learning to take moodiness with a grain of salt.

Deidara sniffed, sitting up in his chair, and gazing at his younger brother with pretty, baby blue eyes. "Have fun today."

Haku tilted his head a minute, before answered, "Yeah. I will." a little hesitantly. "Is something wrong, Dara?"

"No. Well, I. . . No." He said, shaking his head. "Yes." He said, after a second, making Haku's eyes widen.  
"Yes?" He asked, to make sure. Deidara nodded relunctantly, shifting uncomfortably in his seat.

"It's just. . . I love you, Haku." He began. A little shocked, but touched, Haku nodded.

"I love you too." He answered. It was true. Even though they disagreed about a lot of things, he did love his brother. Deidara wasn't a _bad_ person, he just made some bad choices.

"I didn't want you to think. . ." He trailed off, sighing. "Look. Uchiha and I don't get along, and he probably told you some things about me, un."

"Are you saying he lied?" Haku asked, leaning forward. Deidara shook his head very slowly.

"No. I doubt he lied about anything. But. . . I wanted to talk to you and maybe. . . Explain some stuff to you. I didn't want you to think I was some kind of whore or something."

Haku shifted, eyes lowered. He didn't know what to say. It was true, when he found out the things Dara had done, he had just chalked it up to his brother being a slut, and that was the end of it.

Zabuza glanced over at Haku, wondering what he was thinking. He looked over at Deidara, wondering why the boy felt uninhibited about having this seemingly private conversation in front of him, who was nearly a stranger to the blonde. He figured the boy didn't even see him as a real person, just as Haku's bodyguard and protector.

When his brother didn't answer, Deidara went on. "I've slept with a lot of guys." He admitted. "And. . . Most of them weren't my boyfriend or anything. Just. . . Flings, you know, un? One night stands or whatever."

"But why would you do that?" Haku interrupted him quietly. "Why would you want to?"

"I. . . You wouldn't understand, Haku. Everyone thinks you're weak. But they're wrong. You're so strong, you're stronger than me by far."

"What do you mean?" Haku asked him incredulously.

"You're strong inside. You don't care what other people think of you. You dress how you want and look how you want, and when people mock you or call you names, you don't let it break you down."  
That was true, Haku supposed. Well, that had been true, before meeting Zabuza. He had never cared what anyone had thought before the man, but now that seemed to be the most pressing issue in his life.

"I thought you were like that, too." He answered honestly. He had never seen Deidara cry or get mopey over criticism, like he knew some people could.

"I'm not." He said quickly. "I can pretend like something isn't bothering me, but really it's tearing me apart inside. That's why. . . Well. When I have sex with guys, they aren't thinking that I'm not good-looking enough, or that I'm not smart. They just. . . Want me." He said, shaking his head. "And it's really. . . Nice to have someone want you."

Haku nearly answered with 'I know', but he thought better of it. "I'm sure it is." He said softly. "But that doesn't mean that you should just. . . Do that with everyone." He hesitated, not wanting to insult his brother. "Shouldn't that be something special?"

"It should be, un." Deidara answered. "But I guess I just got so caught up with everything, I sort of forgot that it should be. I regret most of my decisions now." He added, sipping his drink.

"Why is that?" Haku asked, tilting his head. "It's not like you've got some sort of. . . STD or something." His eyes got huge suddenly. "Do you!?"

"No!" Deidara said quickly. "God no." He tacked on, shaking his head. "It's just. . . Well, it's stupid, I shouldn't talk about it just yet." He smiled, and stood. "I've actually got some plans today, so I'm just going to head out. See you tonight." He nodded at them, then bounced from the room, leaving Haku confused and slightly worried.

The brown-haired man glanced at the boy, and shrugged. "Something is still bothering him, you know that, right?"

"Yeah." Haku answered. "But I suppose I won't know what it is until he tells me." The boy shifted a little bit, and glanced out the window. "Can we hurry up and go? I wanna get out of here." He said. Zabuza stood immediately.

"Grab the pictures, and we'll go." He commanded, heading toward the door to start the car up. He wondered why Haku was suddenly in such a hurry. Probably just excited to give Naruto and Sasuke the picture he had taken. He settled into the seat, turning the key in the ignition when he saw the pretty boy hurrying down the steps, slamming the front door behind him.

When he had snapped the leather seatbelt across his chest, the ghost of a smile flitted across the man's lips as the car pulled out of the driveway. "Why the rush, Haku?"

"I wanted you to kiss me." He said definitely, turning toward him, knees propped up on the hot dashboard.

Zabuza laughed a little. "Well as I'm driving right now, I don't know if that's an option."

"I think you could manage if you really wanted to." Haku said quietly, his eyes sparkling.

"Oh, I really want to." Zabuza assured him. "But your well-being comes first. It wouldn't be very fitting for us to be scraped off the asphalt along with the chunks of my car just because you wanted a kiss."

When he glanced over at his young companion, he was rewarded with the most pouty, tempting look anyone had ever given him. Haku's frame lurched forward a second as the car was pulled off to the side of the road, the brakes squeaking as Zabuza slammed it into park. He gave the boy a slanted look, letting his hands drop from the steering wheel and rest beside him. Grinning, Haku tore his safety restraint out of the buckle and lunged forward, his hands hitting the man's chest, their lips slammed together.

Cars whipped by them every so often, as it wasn't too crowded of a road. As their tongues and teeth and lips moved together, Haku released a little moan, his hands gripping the faded cotton shirt his guard wore. He felt strong hands come up and grip the backs of his thighs, hard, as if locking him in place. His knees rested on either side of the man, one awkwardly pressed against the door, and one on the center console.

Zabuza raised one of his hands up from a silky thigh to fist through the ebony hair, which also reminded him of silk. Everything about the boy seemed soft. Well, not _everything_, the man thought smugly, feeling the teenager's hips move against his, making them both groan as their arousals brushed together.

When he felt Haku's hand begin to slide under his shirt, skimming over rock-hard abs, he bit back a moan, and leaned his head back, panting. "Haku. . . Haku, this is crazy."

"Hm?" Haku made a noise in his throat, his mouth latching onto the man's collarbone, sucking and nipping. It seemed to be one of his favorite spots.

"We can't keep doing this."

"Why not?" He asked breathily, sighing when the man's fingers plucked at his nipple through his thin shirt. "Please don't stop." He begged, his eyes wide and glittering, the sun slanting in through the dirty windshield to light their bodies. It was nearly impossible to ignore the boy's request that he continue, but somehow he managed to grit his teeth and stop himself from sliding his fingers under that damn shirt to feel warm, bare skin.

"No, Haku. We have to stop. You know that."

"But-"

"We're on the road, outside, in broad daylight." He deadpanned. But his body was on fire, pulsing and aching and making him insane with thoughts of how the younger male's body would feel gripping his cock. How he would look with nothing but sweat and Zabuza's own hands and mouth caressing him.

"Then take me to your apartment." He whispered. "Zabuza." He moaned the word, his damp forehead resting in the crook of the man's neck.

He wanted to. God, did he want to. It had been years, he supposed, since he'd had sex. It simply hadn't been a priority, there had been nobody to strike his interest, to make him want, need, desire. Until now. "I can't." Unleashing the restrain he'd tightly kept his desires for the boy locked away in would be terrifying for both of them, even if Haku didn't know it now.

"We don't have to do it." Haku whispered, his breath hot against Zabuza's neck. "Let's just be alone."

"Every time we're alone, we're like this." He reminded the boy.

"I just wanna touch." The boy begged, nuzzling his face against skin, his fingers still holding the shirt in an iron grip. "There's nothing wrong with touching, right?"

"You tell me." Zabuza said blankly, his hands trembling, his fingers digging into the skin of Haku's legs.

Haku didn't know what to say. He sighed, snuggling deeper against the warm, hard body under him. "I like you." He finally replied.

"I know."

"You like me too."

"Yes."

"We could just talk." Haku finally relented, even though his body was screaming for contact. He wished he were older, and not so weak. If he were older and stronger, Zabuza wouldn't have had any qualms about taking him to his apartment and fucking him on every available surface, he was sure.

"We could." The man agreed. "But if we did that, how would Naruto and Sasuke get their picture?"

"Afterwards." Haku snapped in annoyance. He rarely got so frustrated, but he felt so helpless. It was like the universe was plotting against he and Zabuza's happiness.

"We'll talk about it afterwards." Zabuza said flatly, removing his hands from the perfect, smooth thighs, after giving them one final, loving stroke.

"Fine." Haku said, plopping back down in the passenger seat. He sighed, glancing down at himself. His shirt was disheveled from Zabuza's fingers, his thighs had pink spots from Zabuza's fingers, and his shorts were. . . Not fitting correctly at the moment. He blushed, and glared up at the man, his tawny eyes bright with frustration, who noted where his eyes had drifted from. He never knew he could be so turned on, just from someone else being turned on.

It was torture seeing him there, long hair mussed, skin hot and flushed and damp, lips swollen and dark from rough kisses. Cock straining against tight-fitting shorts. If he had been someone else, _anyone else_, Zabuza would have driven home at 80 miles an hour, dragged him through the door of his home, and lowered him to the floor, tearing his clothes off and giving him exactly what he wanted. An excellent fuck.

But Haku meant so much more to him than that. It had taken a lot of thought to realize it, but the boy was different than anyone Zabuza had ever known. Pure, and sweet, and innocent. And gorgeous, Zabuza reminded himself.

"You understand why we can't do this, right?" He asked gruffly, revving the engine up again, ready to drive.

"No." Haku said defiantly, crossing his arms over his chest, although he really did understand.

"I don't want to hurt you. You don't know what I'm like, alright?" The man finally growled. Haku lifted one eyebrow, lower lip poking out.

"You're Zabuza."

"You don't know what I'm like." He said again.

"I want to!" Haku said desperately. He felt hot, stinging tears fill his eyes, and wasn't at all embarrassed by them. He had never felt more like crying. "Please. I want to know you." He wept, bringing his knees up against his chest again, burying his face in them, his entire body shaking with his sobs. "I'll do anything." He finally whimpered, lifting his head, his cheeks streaked with wet, shiny trails.

Zabuza's heart wrenched, a sensation he had never experienced before. He was making the boy cry. "I'll take you to my apartment." He finally bit out. "But we can't. . . We can't have sex."

"I just want to talk." He replied, but the tears wouldn't stop pouring out. When Zabuza's hand rose from the wheel to brush a lock of dark hair from the side of his face, he sniffled, rubbing at his eyes.

"Please stop crying." The man pleaded, stroking a knuckle across the wet stripe. "I didn't mean to upset you." He promised.

"You'll tell me anything I want to know about you?" Haku asked softly.

Zabuza hesitated a fraction of a second. There were things about him he didn't want anyone to know, especially not Haku. "Anything." He swore wearily, wanting to bang his head on the dashboard of his old, beat-up car.

* * *

**Wow, 8 chapters already, and I still have a lot of ideas for this one! Naruto is such a great show to work with, because of all the fantastic characters. Also, something kind of funny, I have a few of the Naruto video games and although my younger brother (I'm 18, he's 16) isn't exactly a fan of the show, but I get him to play the games with me. And earlier today, I was explaining to him that I was writing a fanfic, and asked him "You know Zabuza and Haku?" And he doesn't remember all the names to all the characters, so he thought for a minute and said "The one with the mask and crazy ice mirrors, and the guy in pajamas with the huge sword?" xD I laughed so hard. Review! ;D**


	9. This Can Be Your Phys Ed

** Mostly just a filler chapter (Or maybe more like a gift to one of my bestest friends Nikki who is not only my one and only beta reader, but the one who inspires me and has been giving me story advice since before I even joined ), but I do adore Narusasu~ And they are important to the plot of the story, you know, even if they haven't been in a whole lot yet o: **

* * *

Sasuke stretched lazily, blowing his black hair out of his face, leaning his head back onto the pillow. It was his day off, and he had already showered, cooked and devoured breakfast, then lunch, had cleaned the house until it was spotless and void of dust, and had absently flipped through television channels, scowling. He hated daytime tv and he was bored sick. Stupid non-cooperating work schedules. Naruto's days off varied, but his were always the same; Sunday. On the rare occasion that he and his lover were home all day on the same day, both were delighted, and usually celebrated by spending at least some of the day wrapped up in each other in bed. Or against the wall. Or on the kitchen table, Sasuke thought, glancing into their small kitchen at the oakwood table. He smiled, tapping his fingers on the arm of the couch, remembering the last time Naruto had been too frenzied to make it into their bedroom and had simply shoved him onto the table, tugging and yanking their clothes off without finesse.

He often got into amazingly needy moods, as if it had been years since they had lain together. And his all-too-hyper energy usually translated well during sex, making him an incredible lover. The raven smirked arrogantly, propping his stockinged feet onto the clean coffee table. And he knew the blonde only had eyes for him.

They had known each other for, well, nearly forever, as far as Sasuke was concerned. The later years of elementary school, all of middle, and again all of high school they had been classmates. He remembered being unbearably annoyed by Uzumaki, only wanting the guy to leave him the hell alone and let him go about his business. But then, during their 11th grade year, he had found a daisy in his locker with a midnight ribbon clumsily wrapped around it, as if the person didn't know very much about tying ribbons. Stupid, really, he had forced himself to think. He hardly had time for some secret admirer who could obviously break into his locker, and leave dumb gifts. But it was sweet. No-one had ever given him anything like that before.

A ribbon-wrapped daisy every day for over a week, he remembered. His heart had already begun melting, regardless of his aggravated mind. And when he had skipped class one day to hide out in the bathroom right across the hall from his locker, waiting and waiting, he had watched as the blonde had easily twisted the metal lock, whistling, leaving the flower inside and closing it, locking it up again. When he had turned, still whistling cheerfully, his face went blank in complete shock. Sasuke had stepped out of the bathroom, standing beside him, arms crossed over his black sweater, one eyebrow raised slightly.

It had been what seemed like whole minutes before Naruto cleared his throat, embarrassment obvious in his face. "Fancy seein' you here, eh Sasuke?"

He had never looked at Naruto as anything more than a classmate, an accquaintance. A somewhat annoying accquaintance. But now that he was looking, really looking, the boy was. . . Well, Sasuke had to admit, he was pretty hot. Thick, messy blonde hair, big charming eyes, a dazzling smile, and a lean body just this side of rangy. And he was clearly sweet, and clearly liked the raven. "Yes, it must be so surprising for you to meet me at my own locker." He had answered, his mouth dry. It was sort of. . . Romantic.

"Oh, is this _your_ locker?" Naruto said thoughtfully. "Jeez! I thought it was Haruno's. My mistake." He said, grinning, his eyes dancing with humor.

"That's a shame." Sasuke retorted matter-of-factly. "I was just starting to notice how attractive you are. But since you obviously aren't interested, Sakura's locker is like 4 that way." He pointed helpfully, placing one hand on a narrow hip.

He remembered the blonde's chuckle, and the banter that had followed. 3 months and a handful of dates and kisses and gropes later, Naruto had confidently declared his love for Uchiha, during a sweaty make-out session in the back of the car Sasuke's brother let him borrow sometimes. Sasuke remembered the fleeting feelings of panic, insecurity, and jaded bitterness. Could someone really love him? But after all that, the feeling that had come the strongest had been mirroring the blonde's. Love. Desperate, urgent, huge love.

Which he still felt every single day of his life. Their feelings or passion hadn't cooled, even after 2 years. Sasuke wondered if they ever would, and sincerely hoped not. When he looked at the clock he was both surprised and pleased to see that his lover would be home from work any minute now.

Straightening his clothes and running a brush through his hair, Sasuke was satisfied with his looks to greet his lover. Looking amazing was a duty as far as the raven was concerned. A job that he had to work at so that Naruto was pleased every single time he looked at him. And although the blonde claimed he would love Sasuke even he weighed 300 pounds, was bald, and had a face full of acne, which Sasuke didn't doubt, he knew Naruto loved his body, and face, and hair. He worshiped them.

When he heard his lover's key turn in the lock of their front door, and push it open, he smiled serenely, his long, lithe body stretched out over the couch like a tribute. "Hey." He said.

Naruto tossed his keys onto the table, and his jacket onto the floor, a habit he knew Sasuke couldn't stand, but could never quite remember to avoid. "Hey." He said grinning, happy to be home. His eyes trailed from the thick, wooly, striped socks Sasuke wore, up the tight-fitting gray jeans, to the equally tight polo shirt he knew his boyfriend was forced to wear for work. "God you're sexy."

"You say that every time you see me." Sasuke answered, bringing one knee up, showcasing his long legs.

"Because every time I come back, you look even more amazing than when I left." He said, wondering if it would be terribly inappropriate to simply fall onto the somewhat small couch on top of his gorgeous lover.

"Then you should leave and come back several times a day." Sasuke retorted, stretching, arching his back, the hem of his shirt moving up, showing a strip of ivory skin Naruto knew was softer than satin.

"You're doing that on purpose." Naruto accused, pointing a finger. "You always say 'Damn Naruto, must you always have such an insane libido?', but how the hell am I supposed to keep my libido in check when you're always doing those sexy little things!?"

The ebony-eyed boy licked his lips slowly, and trailed a hand up his stomach, the shirt coming up with it, showing all of his tight, toned belly, resting it on his chest. "I don't know what you're talking about."

He nearly squealed, something that was _so_ out of character for him, when Naruto tackled him, their bodies tangling together, mouths fusing, hands groping and squeezing. When they hit the floor, both of them hissing in pain, Sasuke's body taking the worst of the blow, Naruto ran a hand down his long back soothingly, stopping at his ass to cup it.

"Does it hurt much?" He asked mockingly, making Sasuke's eyebrow arch.

"Yeah I think I need an ambulance."

"Good thing I'm a doctor." Naruto assured him, easily flipping his uke's body so he laid stomach-down on the carpeted floor.

"You're a waiter." Sasuke rolled his eyes as he felt his shirt being pulled over his head, and Naruto's skilled hands rub down his back.

"Hey!" Naruto snapped, pinching the delicate skin. "I'm a chef-in-training. And anyway, I'm qualified enough for this." He massaged the tense muscles all the way down, taking several minutes, until the raven was limp and completely relaxed, purring out his pleasure. "Feel better?" He asked. He had already worked himself up into a horny mess, watching the white skin flex and move, feeling it heat up under his hands, and eyeing the tight ass in those jeans.

"Definitely." Sasuke assured him. He raised his hips up accomodatingly for Naruto's fingers to unsnap his jeans and pull them down, along with his underwear, and throw them somewhere also.

Sasuke always had a lot of clothes to pick up after they were done.

"Aren't you gonna take my socks off?" Sasuke raised himself up onto his knees, glancing back into Naruto's face, who leered at the perfect body in front of him, legs spread imploringly. The black and gray striped socks, that ended a few inches below the raven's knees were a shocking color against milk-white.

"No way. Holy shit that's hot." He said honestly. He was still completely dressed, but the sight of the long, slender body that practically begged for attention had him nearly throbbing.

"If you're really set on fucking me on our floor, you might want to hurry. In case you don't remember, Haku and Zabuza are supposed to be coming over sometime today, and I do think it'd be rather embarrassing for them to find us naked and moaning."

Naruto grinned wickedly. Sasuke was pretty much a champion moaner. And he had absolutely no qualms about never stifling those perfect, loud screams and pleads during a romp. "Well if you insist." He said, unzipping his jeans, his cock springing out of the hole and standing at attention.

"Lazy bastard."

"Yeah." Naruto agreed, his fingers already clamping over the familiar hips. He let one hand go forward, and rested two fingers on his lover's full, bottom lip. When he felt his appendages begin to be coated in slick saliva by the strong tongue and sweet mouth, he had to stifle a groan. He pulled them out and without any further ado, slid them into the pink hole, stroking the soft walls.

He wasn't exactly _stretching_ the raven, they had made love so many times, his body was definitely accustomed to having something inside it. But even after laying in bed and having sex nearly all day, Naruto had always been amazed at just how tight it was around him, squeezing his pulsing cock snugly.

And anyway, he loved watching his strong, tanned fingers working in and out of the perfect body, hearing Sasuke whimper, or touching that bundle of nerves and hearing him moan wantonly.

But today, as the boy had already reminded him, they were in a bit of a hurry. So he kept his teasing to a minimum, lining up his cock and pushing in, biting his lip. His fingers gripped the hips once more, holding them tightly so he could bang his raven into the floor.

"Ahh, oh, Naruto." He was already quivering, already delirious with pleasure. The blonde had stroked his sweet spot 3 times during the quick lube, and was now dangerously close to pressing against it with the blunt tip of his rather large cock. It never occured to him that someone who knew him would have been absolutely amazed that the cool, calm, collected Uchiha was a loud, uninhibited, and very sensitive lover.

Hearing the raven moan his name had always driven him crazy, the fact that he could make someone so un-excitable lose all control was a huge point of pride for him. "I love you." He breathed out, hips moving in a quick, but steady rhythm.

"Ah! Uhh, yeah. I love you too, baby." Sasuke retorted, one of his trembling hands flying up to touch his own neglected cock and relieve some of the overwhelming pressure.

"Uh-uh, let me." Naruto said, swatting the hand away, and replacing it with his own. His own breath was heaving out as he glanced down at the arching, ivory body beneath him. And the sight of his cock pulling out and slamming back into the quivering hole nearly made him come right then and there.

Sasuke's body was slick with sweat, writhing with need but still Naruto slowly, in tandem with his slow, steady thrusts, stroked his lover's cock, and planted a wet kiss on the nape of the raven's neck.

The ebony-haired boy was nearly going crazy. The feeling of Naruto's rough jeans brushing against his smooth legs every few seconds threatened to send his senses into overload.

"God, you're killing me." Sasuke moaned. He turned, hating the feeling of his lover's rock-hard cock slipping out of him. When he was face-to-face with the blonde, whose eyes were wide with shock, he shoved him down onto the carpet, his back hitting it hard.

"Sasuke, what the hell- Ah, shit!" He groaned when Sasuke straddled him, quickly and efficiently taking the leaking cock up inside him again. His hips moved like lightning, making them both moan, his head thrown back, his slim, agile body slick.

Naruto's hands slid from the wet body, groped blindly for Sasuke's. When their fingers linked, the raven felt a rush of love that nearly staggered him. "I love you so much, Naruto." He swore, only a little embarrassed that tears settled on his lashes.

Naruto felt a similar wave of absolute love, there was no other word for it, crash over him in a terrifyingly strong dose. "Oh, Sasuke." He could only groan as his lover set the pace, fast and frantic. Half-mad with it, he reared up, crushing hot kisses over the full mouth of his boyfriend.

"O-oh! Ahhhh!" Moaning mindlessly when his spot was stimulated again, Sasuke arched, his climax stunning him. It was so intense he thought he would die from it, but his eyes stayed open and focused on the big blue orbs. "Oh god, Naruto!" He managed, and felt his scorchingly hot seed pour from him all over the kyuubi's stomach and chest. Love and lust tangled gloriously, making the strength of the release tenfold.

Sasuke's perfect passage tightened considerably, the muscles spasming and twitching around his cock, making the orgasm hit him with an unparalleled force. Their hands squeezed together tightly, as Naruto nearly screamed, it felt so good.

He emptied himself deep inside the other, the passion dragging them under and keeping them there for what seemed like several minutes until finally, both trembling and panting heavily, Sasuke collapsed onto Naruto's chest.

"I love you so much, too." Naruto finally whispered, stroking a hand down the length of the boy's spine, smiling when he laughed shakily, and burrowed his face into the blonde's rising chest.

"It scares me sometimes." He admitted. The afterglow of incredible sex never ceased to amaze him. It was so warm and lovely, and nothing was quite as sweet as it.

"Tell me about it." Naruto shifted, holding the raven in the crook of his arm protectively, kissing his cheek. "I'd take a bullet for you."

"Good to know." Sasuke stretched and relaxed, so completely content. "I'd take one for you, too."

"Don't ever." Naruto said flatly. When Sasuke arched a brow imploringly, Naruto shook his head. "I'd never forgive myself."

"Well I can see we're going to have some serious issues of the pair of us ever gets shot at." Sasuke remarked, and laughed when the blonde's tongue streaked over his hardened nipple. "Naruto! You can't possibly still be horny after _that_!"

"But you're _so _sexy!" The blonde cried loudly, planting wet kisses all over the sweaty chest. "I could fuck you for hours and still be horny."

Sasuke knew he spoke only the truth, since that very thing had happened on more than one occasion. "You're insane." He answered, but had to bite back a moan when the kyuubi's skilled tongue flicked over the still sensitive head of his cock. "Uhhhh! Stop it!" He said, bucking and wriggling to get out of the blonde's strong grip. "We just don't have time!"

"There's always time for this." Naruto reminded him, finally slipping his jeans down his legs, so the raven's mouth nearly watered at the body he adored.

"Zabuza and Haku are coming!" He snapped.

"Oh I doubt it. They probably haven't even had sex yet." Naruto grinned, and watched the implication of his words work in the boy's mind.

"I meant they are coming to our house, you idiot." He paused, then eyed his lover warily. "And. . . Do you really think Haku and Zabuza are. . . Well. Are they together?"

"Duh." Naruto frowned. "Are you dumb?" He hissed at the fist that pounded his shoulder.

"Zabuza's kind of. . . Old to be Haku's boyfriend, don't you think?"

"Just a number." Naruto said dismissively, shrugging. "You really couldn't tell? You must be blind." He laughed when he was hit again. "Always violence with you, eh? I ought to call the abuse hotline."

"Oh yeah I'm such a tyrant." Sasuke scoffed. "And there you are, molesting me again." He said when Naruto's clever fingers slipped between his legs to tease his slick hole. "I ought to call the _sexual_ abuse hotline."  
"You like it." The kyuubi grinned smugly. "Admit it. My body drives you wild, and every time I fuck you, you fall that much more in love with me."

"Pretty sure of yourself." Sasuke said cooly, raising a brow. "How do you know I'm not getting bored with you?"

"You're hard." Naruto observed cheerfully, reversing their positions so his lover was spread under him. He lifted one ivory leg up, and over his tanned shoulder.

"So are you." Sasuke rolled his eyes toward the ceiling. "We really don't have time for this." He said, weakening considerably when the blonde's lips suckled the tip of his member, then engulfed it in wet heat, his tongue twisting around it. He moaned, his head laying against the carpet.

"I'll make it quick." He winked.

* * *

When Sasuke lay panting, the second orgasm having nearly killed him once again, he moaned wearily. "Okay, enough. No more touching me."

"But I love you." Naruto grinned, kissing him innocently.

"God, you're not normal." He panted, managing with only extreme effort to sit up. "We need a shower."

"Together?" Naruto asked hopefully, and Sasuke snarled.

"No!"

"No touching, I promise." He said, holding his right hand up as if taking the oath. "I don't even think _I_ could have another go at it yet. Not for a little while, at least." He said. "My body can only handle so much." He added.

Sasuke smiled. "Fine. We can shower together." He sat up, stretching his legs. Thank God the blonde finally seemed to have taken the edge off his intense libido.

"Oh wow." Naruto said, eyes widening. Sasuke tilted his head.

"What?"

"You're still wearing those socks." And they still looked incredibly sexy.

"Yeah, we never took them off, remember?" He said oddly.

"Yeah I remember." Naruto said quickly. He glanced up into Sasuke's beautifully dark eyes and actually managed a sheepish grin as he felt his body, amazingly, heat up again. "You know, I really don't have any control over my body. Or my libido."

Sasuke's eyes widened impossibly. "You cannot be fucking serious, Naruto." He backed away, raising his knees up in a way that he thought would prevent Naruto from getting any ideas, but really just reminded the blonde how perfectly submissive the raven was, and gave him an excellent view of his crotch. "I cannot believe you're hard. Again."

"Believe it." Naruto leered, his hand raising to twirl a lock of black hair around his fingers.

"No. No way!" Sasuke shoved him off. "It's not even possible for me to be hard again right now, I'm sorry." He said seriously. Naruto sulked for a moment, then glanced up mischeviously.

"Well you could at least jack me off or something."

Sasuke sighed, resigned. This is what he got for falling in love with an absolute pervert, he supposed. "Whatever, you freak."

"You like it."

* * *

** I know, I know! The first actual lemon should have been between Zabuza and Haku, but it just started flowing from my fingers and **

**I had absolutely no control over it. I tried not to make it TOO graphic! But don't worry, I PROMISE there will be ZabuHaku citrus, plenty of it to go around. And plus, that was kind of just a little change of pace from the two of them, they're usually so serious, and Naruto is just so much fun to write about, especially when you put him with Sasuke. AND I LOVE YOU NIKKI! **

**And now, back to your regularly scheduled Zabuza x Haku fic~ IF you review, that is**


	10. Bid My Blood To Run

**One of my reviews for the last chapter made me laugh~ Because I know the dreaded curse of being online on the PSP xD It DOES show me that you have dedication to reading this, Zack! LOL**

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Haku sighed quietly, miserably uncomfortable for the first time ever in the old worn car. They were in front of the tall brick building with all the windows, Zabuza's apartment, but neither of them had moved to open the doors and get out.

He shouldn't have cried. He knew that. But it's not like he could control his bodily functions. And he had never known anything more tragic than what was happening to him now. "I'm sorry." He finally said. "You don't have to tell me anything."

Zabuza's eyes glared down at the floor mats. He had known this would happen. He would end up hurting the sensitive boy. He had known it was a certainty, just like he hurt everyone else that he had gotten close to. Or even just attempted to get close to. God, it was fucking unfair. He supposed it was just karma getting him back for all the wrongs he had commited, making him fall for a dark-eyed beauty that he couldn't possibly make happy. They could never be together, not in the way he wanted. "Haku, it's not that, ok?" He finally snapped. He knew he was being harsh, but what else could he do?

"Then what is it?"

"You wouldn't understand." The man said. As far as he was concerned, everyone around Haku worked tirelessly to make his life a shining crysallis of gentleness and happiness and bright joy. And he could ruin it in an instant.

"I would if you just tell me." Haku answered. He knew he shouldn't push it. It was obviously upsetting the man, whatever this was. But. . . How could he make Zabuza happy, if he wouldn't let them get close?

"I can't put my job in jeopardy." He said icily. Haku's eyes got huge.

". . . Is that really just what this is?" He asked, immensely hurt. "I'm really just a job to you?"

"No!" Zabuza snarled. "No, you're more than a job to me. But if I hurt you, and you can't stand to be around me, it's going to make my mission pretty fucking difficult."

"There's nothing you could tell me that would stop me from wanting to be around you." He whispered.

Zabuza sighed again. "Come with me." He said, sliding out of the car and slamming the door. When Haku got out and shut the door, he slid his hand back into Zabuza's, but frowned when the man stiffened slightly.

"You don't want the people you live around to see you with me?" Haku asked, the idea dawning on him. He pulled his hand away immediately, putting it behind his back. "I'm sorry. I didn't think of-" His words were cut off when he was grabbed roughly around the shoulders. His startled gasp was muffled when Zabuza's mouth clamped down on his, the man's fists bunching in his hair, leaning his head back roughly. Haku let his arms fall limp to his sides in complete surrender as his mouth was plundered, the older male's tongue assaulting him, leaving not a single inch of the wet cavern unexplored.

He could never get tired of kissing, Haku realized. Kissing Zabuza was. . . Hot and wicked and sexy, and made his body tremble and ache.

When his bodyguard finally pulled back, his teeth biting down on the boy's bottom lip nearly hard enough to break the skin, Haku gazed up into his eyes, which were narrowed and looked intense.

"I don't give a shit what the people I live around think about me and you." He said. Haku nodded wordlessly. "Now come on." He said, yanking the boy up the stairs roughly, hurrying toward his door. When they reached it, Zabuza pulled him inside and slammed it, twisting the top lock into place, and then the bottom on the knob as well.

Haku looked around again. It was the same as before. Small, but it seemed perfect for just one person. Or a couple, he thought, shivering. "I really like it here." He admitted. ignoring Zabuza's scoff.

"Yeah it's a regular Taj Mahal."

"I mean it." Haku said defensively. "It's small, but. . . It's nice. I can see myself waking up here every morning."

Zabuza shifted. He couldn't. He couldn't see the beautiful teenager waking up on his god awful mattress, with the spring poking up out of the left top corner, or going into his miniscule kitchen and getting something to eat from his ancient refrigerator. "Yeah?"

"Yeah." He hesitated. "I can see myself waking up anywhere as long as I was beside you."

"Why would you want that?" Zabuza heard himself ask before he could stop it.

"Why wouldn't I?" Haku asked, eyes lowered, pink rising to his cheeks.

"Gee, I don't know." Zabuza said sarcastically, arching an eyebrow. "I'm almost 30 to start, I can barely afford to take care of myself, I'm an asshole and I don't know how to be sensitive to other people's feelings and needs. I'm not particularly good-looking, or intelligent, and I don't have any skills except being able to shoot someone from pretty fuckin' far away."

Haku waited until he had finished, then wrapped his thin arms around his guard's strong neck, nuzzling his face into the hard muscles, kissing softly. "Do I get to respond to all that?" He asked, feeling his heart flutter when the man's arms wrapped him up, lifting him easily off the floor and bundling his compact body against his chest.

"If you'd like." Zabuza said agreeably, walking steadily into his bedroom, laying down on the somewhat tough mattress, cradling the boy's body against him. The scent of Haku's hair had gotten into him again, making him think of the forest and sweetness. He wondered if the boy might like a nap, and what sort of dreams he might have with his face firmly pressed into long, long black hair.

"28 isn't _almost_ 30. I bet I'll be 18 before you're 29."

"How soon are you-"  
"Let me finish." Haku whined. Zabuza snorted, shaking his head. Taking that as assent, the boy continued. "Barely being able to afford to take care of yourself isn't that much of an issue. I have a trust fund. I get it on my 18th birthday." He didn't tell the man how much it was for. But the number had a lot of 0's. "You're nice to me, you always have been. And you make me happy, and you make me feel good. You make me feel. . . Warm. Nobody else can do that, Zabuza." He paused, looking up into the man's dark eyes and smiled. He still wasn't speaking, which was good. Haku wanted to get this all out at once. "I think you're good-looking. You're handsome." He added, giggling when Zabuza rolled his eyes toward the ceiling. "It's true!" The teenager laughed, kissing his escort's cheek sweetly. "And you're intelligent, and. . . I don't know what kind of skills you have, but whatever you can do, whatever you like to do, I want you to do it. Because it makes you happy. _I _want to make you happy."

Haku could make him happy. Zabuza knew that. But could he make the boy happy in return? He doubted it. But the way Haku was gazing up into his eyes, radiating fuzzy warmth and love and trust was making him somehow think, even for just a second, that maybe they could be normal. Maybe they could really make it as a couple. Maybe- He froze, rewinding the words in his head with a sick sort of dread. Love.

"Are you in love with me?" He blurted out. And could cheerfully have sliced his own throat after the blunt words fell from his lips. _Lovely. Very tactful, Momochi. You always were a smooth one._

"I. . ." Haku stuttered out another sound, but choked on the words in his throat. He felt his face burn hot as his hands shook, and his lashes fluttered down. "Zabuza." He murmured helplessly. It was all he could say.

"Haku." He answered, his hands raising to gently cup the boy's pretty face. "You can tell me."

"It scares me." He whispered, breathing shakily. There were no sounds, total silence when Zabuza's lips sought his, in a kiss almost more gentle and chaste and sweet than anything he had ever experienced. "I am." He finally said, hiding his face in the crook of the man's arm, burrowing it, so he didn't have to see Zabuza's eyes widen in shock, or frown.

"You're in love with me?" He asked again, as if in disbelief.

Haku nodded slowly. His heart was pounding so hard he was surprised it didn't simply burst through his chest and land quivering in Zabuza's hands.

The man felt as though he had taken a rather sharp swipe of a blade through his chest and stomach. "Do you hate it?" Haku whispered, his breath hot on the older male's skin.

"No." He answered without hesitation.

Haku was terrified, peterified to ask him the real question he wanted to ask him. _Do you love me back? _"Do you. . .?" He stopped, unable to continue. But when he looked up into those dark eyes again, he was sure Zabuza knew what he meant.

"There are things that need to be said." He answered quietly. "Things you need to know."  
These must be the things Zabuza had been talking about, Haku thought. The bad, horrible things he thought would make Haku hate him forever, and never want to see him again. "Tell me everything." He said. Zabuza nodded, and planted one perfect kiss against the full mouth he had come to adore, before he began speaking.

"I was born in the inner city. Not this one. But one a lot like this one. My parents. . . Well, my mom. My dad didn't hang around too much. He didn't think I was his. I guess my mom fucked a lot of guys all at once, because I don't think she really knew if I was his either. He sort of drifted in and out of our house and our lives whenever he wanted."

Haku's eyes widened a little at Zabuza's cruel words, but didn't respond. He supposed Zabuza wanted to get all this out at once. "My mom didn't want kids. She never wanted kids. The only reason she had me is because she was too afraid of an abortion."

"Don't say that!" Haku cried, before he could stop himself. He had wanted to be silent, but. . . There's no way the man could be telling it right.

"She told me that herself." Zabuza answered coldly. When Haku didn't respond, couldn't, he went on. The look of pain in the man's dark eyes broke his heart. "Anyway, when I was 13, I remember coming home to find one of her. . . Clients or boyfriends, whatever the fuck he was, in our living room, on our couch. He had a syringe, and he was shooting up. Heroin." He paused a moment, and stroked a hand down Haku's long, soft hair. It smelled so sweet, it nearly made him forget the stale, damp smell of the places he had been. The smell of vomit and blood and death, of rotting garbage in an alleyway where he sat up against a brick wall, sating himself with whatever drug he could get his hands on. When the boy didn't shudder or pull away, it was like soothing balm to his fears. The fear that Haku would be repulsed by him after knowing what he had been through.

Haku leaned forward, kissing him again, their lips melding together perfectly. Zabuza had to repress the urge to just stop. To shut up and not tell him anymore. Let him go on thinking he was some kind of romantic figure, and just keep kissing him forever until they couldn't breathe anymore. "I asked him what he was doing. He told me 'escaping'. I told him it must be nice, I'd give anything to be able to escape. He asked me if I had any money. I had some. I learned to pickpocket when I was 9, and I often did it. For the satisfaction of it, and for the money."

"He told me I should start out with little shit. Pot and coke. I smoked pot every day, all the time. And kept a black wallet in my pocket all the time. With a little mirror, a razorblade, and a straw." Haku didn't know a whole lot about drugs, had never been exposed to anything like that. But he did know how people used cocaine. "By the time I was 15, I had done. . . Everything." He said, gesturing with his hands. "My favorite was heroin. When you use heroin, Haku, it's. . . Seductive. You feel heavy and hazy and dreamy, like you're in some kind of wonderland. Until you come down off it."

"Come down off it?" Haku repeated, tilting his head a little, not really understanding the wording.

"Yeah, when. . . When your high is ending. When it stops feeling good, and starts feeling horrible." He raised a hand, his middle finger and index finger spaced wide apart. "Look between my fingers." Haku did so, squinting. There were tiny scars, miniscule holes that obviously were made by the man. . . Well, he hadn't been a man then, but by Zabuza carelessly plunging a needle into his skin.

"Why do you do it there?" Haku asked softly, and humbled Zabuza beyond words by kissing the open palm of the man softly. As if he loved every part of him completely.

"So people can't see the holes, of course." He thought a moment. "If you looked, you could probably find some more in between my toes. A few between my bellybutton and my cock." He said honestly.

"I didn't see any when I was. . ." Haku trailed off, blushing. Now wasn't exactly the time to be thinking those kinds of thoughts.

"It was dark. And they're small. You have to look close." He said dismissively. "Anyway, I did a lot of heroin. A lot." He repeated. "One day, I was pickpocketing, and somehow, I stumbled across some tourist. A lady." He specified. "She was naive, she had no idea leaving her purse hanging on the back of her chair would pretty much cost her all the money she had. And she had a lot. Almost $1000." He recalled. "I took all of it, and hightailed it out of there before she could even notice. That night when I went to my dealer. . . I spent it all."

Haku's eyes widened again, but he didn't say anything. Could only snuggle into the man's chest, listening closely to every word, and loving the strong, steady heartbeat that pulsed against him. Zabuza's arms came up around him, holding him tightly, and he kissed the crown of Haku's hair.

"My mom had been ignoring me completely for about a week, after she had told me that I was good-for-nothing and that I should just go get out of her life. She wished she had gotten the abortion." He said, and shrugged. "So I went away from my house. I walked to a slummy alleyway, full of whores and drug dealers, and sat with my needle and my drugs. And I speedballed." He vaguely remembered the white and brown powder mixed together on the huge spoon, the lighter heating it until it was bubbling, and filling the syringe with it.

"Speedball?" Haku repeated.

"It's heroin and coke mixed." The man explained. "I barely remember it, but. . . I did too much." He said. "I remember screaming. It felt like an orgasm, only. . . Only stronger. And scarier." He didn't often talk about the times he had been scared or weak, but it didn't bother him too much with Haku. "I could feel it bursting through my blood and my body. I was so hot I wanted to explode. Then I heard police sirens."

He paused another moment, searching Haku's face for any sign of repulsion or nausea or contempt. When he couldn't find any, he continued. "The police just happened to show up, to arrest a few of the hookers and dealers. They found me, writhing on the street. They called an ambulance for me."

"They sent me to rehab, to get clean." Zabuza felt cold, suddenly. So terrifyingly cold it was as if he was back in the wretched place, the hardest, most painful thing he had ever done. He squeezed the boy tighter, nuzzling his face in the soft hair, reminding himself he was grown now, not a teenager in a rehab clinic. And someone was in love with him. All of that was in the past. "It was so hard, Haku. Sometimes I screamed. I cried a lot. I would get so bad when I was detoxing they would have to belt me to the bed, bind my arms and legs so I wouldn't hurt people. I would get hysterical." He remembered the torment well. They would leave him alone for merely 10 minutes at a time, and he would scream. He was sure the red-eyed monsters he saw at the foot of his bed would slash him open and spill his guts all over the clean bed. His throat would be raw and sore by the time a nurse could hurry in.

". . . How long did it take?" Haku asked quietly. There was so much fear and rage and bitterness Haku could practically feel it seeping out of the man's pores.

"6 weeks." He answered. Haku felt hot tears burning his eyes again, but was scared to shed them. He couldn't imagine Zabuza as a teenager, a miserable teenager. A screaming, crying teenager whose body had been abused by needle after needle, drug after drug. When the first one slipped over his lashes and down his cheek, fat and wet, Zabuza scowled.

"Goddamn it. I'm sorry, Haku. I didn't mean to make you cry." He said helplessly. "I'll stop."

"No!" Haku said quickly, shaking his head. "I don't mean to cry, Zabuza. I want to hear it. All of it." He added.

"It's upsetting you."

"Not you." Haku explained. "Just. . . It must have been so painful. I don't like to think of you in so much pain."

"I deserved it." Zabuza said coldly. "I was a fucking idiot, thinking that I could just do drugs and never have to pay retribution." Haku was afraid to disagree with him. He didn't want the man to stop talking again. "After 6 weeks, I was clean. I didn't have anything left in my system. And they sent me to a shrink to make sure I didn't have any kind of emotional trauma or whatever."

"I guess I didn't, because they let me stop going after a little while." He sighed. "I had fucked around with gangs and shit like that for years before. Knew how to use a knife and a gun. And then I met Gatou. He's a fucking asshole. But he took care of me, paid me for jobs. Illegal shit I shouldn't have been doing, but a job nonetheless. The third assignment he gave me. . ." Zabuza paused again. He was tired of talking. He just wanted to lay beside Haku's slim body and sleep for an hour. To wake up to bright brown eyes and delicate hands and hot kisses. But he was almost finished. "Someone had betrayed him. He told me to 'take care of the traitor', and he showed me how to kill clean. I did it, and I was good at it. Gatou called me a natural." A natural killer. The phrase sent a chill down Haku's spine, but he firmly ignored it. "I've killed a lot since then, among other things, of course. Every once in a while, I get an easy mission where I have to protect a pretty boy."

Haku blushed in pleasure, before a creeping thought crossed his mind. ". . . Have you ever. . ." He trailed off.

"Ever?"

"How many boys have you. . ." He paused again, blushing madly. Did he really want to know?

"Fucked?" Zabuza said bluntly, eyes narrowed.

"Yeah." Haku whispered.

"I've fucked men." He said slowly. "But never a boy. I'm not some kind of chronic pedophile." He snapped. "You're the only one, alright?"

"I'm barely a boy." Haku said softly, laying his head on the hard shoulder, trying to comfort and soothe. "I'll be 18 in less than 4 months."

"That's good." Zabuza replied.

"You never answered my question."

"God, I don't know, Haku." Zabuza sighed. "A lot. I'm old, remember?"

"You're not old." Haku whined. But his mind was racing. ". . . More than 5?"

"Yes."

". . . More than 50?"

"I don't fucking know." Zabuza said again, loudly. When Haku's eyes lowered under thick lashes, he groaned. "If I had to guess I might say around 10."

Haku didn't know what to say. 10 people had lain with his Zabuza, had experienced those hot, wicked kisses that made him pulse with desire. Made him want to rip his clothes off and throw himself at the man. He wondered if all of Zabuza's lovers had gotten light-headed and dizzy with need every time their skin had touched. It made him jealous, but he knew he couldn't dwell on it. ". . . 10 is kind of a lot." He said weakly.

Zabuza scowled. "Not if you average it out with the years since I first started having sex." He had always considered himself not much of a sexual being. Sure, he liked sex, who didn't? But he didn't obsess over it. He didn't have to have some tight hole to pound himself into all the time to keep him from going insane like he knew some guys did. Until he met Haku.

". . . How old were you when you, uh. . . Lost your virginity?"

"16." He answered. He sincerely hoped the teen wouldn't want to delve into his past lovers. "But none of that shit is important now. You're the only one I think about, Haku. Since the first minute I met you."

The boy's hearted melted sweetly, like sticky chocolate, turning molten over heat. "I thought I loved you before, Zabuza."

The bodyguard's heart stopped. Sweat prickled his skin, and his blood turned to ice. Loved? Haku's arms came around his neck, holding him tightly. He pressed their mouths together firmly, kissing him for several seconds before pulling back. "But I know I love you now." He finished.

Zabuza shuddered, broke. His strong arms came around and enfolded the beautiful boy, holding him so it nearly hurt. His hard mouth took the comfort Haku offered. The man never wanted to let go, to cling to this one beautiful, perfect being in his life that had been full of pain and imperfection and ugliness. Haku was a shining light, rays of sun shining determinedly through ink-black darkness, chasing away the shadows.

"I don't know what I'd do without you now." Zabuza said quietly. "I can't lose you."

"I'm not going anywhere." Haku promised.

"You know I'm supposed to be your bodyguard for a long time."

"Yes." Haku said. "I guess that means it will be easy for us to be together all the time."

Zabuza smirked. "Maybe. But it also means that your family might be paying more attention than we give them credit for." He nibbled the teen's full lips seductively, sampling the sweet honey flavor with the tip of his tongue.

"So?" He sighed dreamily, the kiss deepening before Zabuza drew back, a teasing glint in his eyes.

"So we don't want them to figure too much out."

Haku pouted. "Yeah." But he doubted any of them paid him enough attention to be able to figure out any personal goings-on in his life.

"Haku?"

The boy smiled serenely. He loved the way his name sounded in Zabuza's gruff voice. "Yes?"

"Nothing I told you. . . bothered you?"

Haku hesitated. "Zabuza. . ." He didn't want to bring the dark mood back. It was scary, and he could tell the memories hurt the man. "I love you. Isn't that enough?"

"That means it did."

"I know you made mistakes in the past. It's okay. You're. . . You're good now." He said firmly.

"I kill people for a living." He said flatly. Again the words made Haku's skin crawl, but he brutally ignored it. It was like swallowing down vomit.

"Only sometimes!" He said indignantly.

"Often enough."

He didn't want to hear it. He loved Zabuza, and could accept anything he had done. But he didn't want the details. "I know. . . It's alright. I love you."

"I know." Zabuza said. "I. . . " He hesitated. Haku tilted his head, eyes owlish. "I don't know how to say it." He confessed.

"Haven't you ever?" He breathed.

"No."

"But. . . Do you feel it?" Haku asked, his hands spreading on the hard chest.

"Yes." He did. He was sure. He had never felt more of an intense feeling for anyone or anything. "Look, I know it's only been a few days. Other people would think we were fucking nuts, but. . . Haku. I'm crazy about you."

"I love hearing you say that, Zabuza." He said, nuzzling the man's warm neck. It was time for complete and total honesty. "It _does_ scare me that you. . . You're an assasin." He said, smoothing over the word _killer_. "But I understand it's what you want to do. And. . . It doesn't make me feel any less for you."

"I'm glad you made me tell you everything."

Haku smiled. "I didn't make you. I can't force you to do anything. You're bigger than me."

"Hmm. Thanks for reminding me." Zabuza pretended to mull it over in his mind. "I guess that means I could take advantage of you pretty easily."

"Oh _please_ no." Haku pretended to be shocked and disillusioned at thought of the man 'taking advantage' of him. He bit his lower lip, fluttering his long lashes, tossing his hair behind him. It was a move that he would have been mortally embarrassed for Zabuza to find out that he had practiced in the mirror.

"Don't tempt me, you little cocktease." He said shortly, his hand smacking the boy's ass with a little more force than was necessary, and Haku's jaw dropped in genuine shock this time.

"Cocktease!?" He bristled, eyes glaring hot daggers into the man. "I'd give anything to sleep with you, _you're _the cocktease, Zabuza Momochi!" He crossed his arms over his chest, as if daring the guard to disagree with him.

Zabuza laughed hard, throwing his head back. It felt wonderful to be happy again, without the need of drugs or anything else. Nothing but the person he loved. Before Haku could even register the movement, the older male had tackled him onto the mattress, mouth against mouth, still laughing when his strong fingers tickled the boy's sensitive ribcage, forcing Haku to burst out in laughter along with him.

* * *

** Review ;D**


	11. Will I Wake Up? Say a Prayer For Me

**I wanted to tell everyone 'Happy Thanksgiving' here, because I started writing this chapter on Thanksgiving Day, but then I remembered that I won't post it until more around Christmas time D: I'm like. . . Way ahead of my posted chapters~  
**

* * *

By the time the pair actually arrived at Naruto and Sasuke's humble abode, they had napped for about a half hour, both feeling somewhat emotionally and physically drained. Haku was still practically floating on the romantic figurative Cloud 9, and Zabuza couldn't help but feel the same way, although he was excellent at hiding it, and remaining his usual stoic self. He felt energized and happy, as if none of the negativity in the world could break through the pretty bubble that surrounded them.

"I think they'll like it." The teenager beamed, smiling warmly, studying his pictures with love and adoration.

"I'm sure." Zabuza agreed, making a sharp turn into a parking lot.

"I want to take some of you." Haku commented, absently toying with a hole in the seat.

"Where will you keep your X-rated photos?" Zabuza retorted, glancing over at him, grinning. Haku blushed, but smiled. He couldn't help but feel tempted at the idea.

"Shut up. You know what I meant." But he thought it _would_ be nice to have a picture or two of Zabuza's toned, rigid body. Heat rose to his cheeks as he imagined an 'X-rated' picture of he and Zabuza together.

"Bash it all you want. I bet Sasuke and Naruto have some dirty pictures or videos of themselves stashed somewhere around their house." He shrugged, but his eyes had a humorous glint.

Haku's cocoa eyes rounded. "Well. . . They've been together a long time. Years." He tacked on. He sighed, laying his head back against the worn seat. "It must be nice. To be able to go to sleep next to your lover at night and wake up with them in the morning."

"You're really into the waking up next to someone idea, huh?"

"Yeah, I suppose. It just. . . It seems like it would just start your day out so. . . Wonderfully. To be able to wake up to a kiss from the person you love." Haku hated going to bed by himself, and leaving it by himself. He had always just wanted a warm body, someone to hold him.

Zabuza agreed, but stayed silent. He knew that he and Haku couldn't share a bed. Not now or anytime soon. Best not to dwell on the things he couldn't have. Haku was already accustomed to knowing when Zabuza was thinking on how to phrase an answer, or when he simply just wasn't going to speak on the subject at all. He tilted his head, studying the man with the rose-tinted glasses of somebody in love, but also with the critical eye of an artist. He had such a lean, rawboned face, with cheekbones and everything. It was . . . Elegant, Haku decided. And his body was so. . . Hard. And strong. He had big hands with long, clever fingers, and wide, broad shoulders. The teenager found himself wondering how much weight his bodyguard could lift.

"Do you like to just sit and stare at me?" Zabuza asked.

"Yes." Haku said without a hint of embarrassment. Why wouldn't he? "You do it to me, too."

Zabuza supposed that was true. The boy was definitely a pleasure to look at. His mind could still barely wrap around the fact that he seemed to have hit the karmic jackpot, snagging up the affections of someone who was young, and sweet, and amazingly gorgeous. He had the face of an angel, all wholesome and classic beauty, with big brown eyes framed by onyx lashes, a small nose just barely upturned at the end, and a full sulky mouth. With everything he had done wrong, he certainly must have done something right, to be awarded this sort of relationship by the fates.

"I like to look at you." The man replied.

"I'm glad." Haku said, leaning forward to kiss his bodyguard's cheek swiftly.

* * *

When Sasuke stepped out of the bathroom, steam like a sauna pouring from the doorway, he rubbed his hair vigorously with a fluffy red towel, trying to dry it quickly. "Jeez, finally!" Naruto complained, bouncing up and down on the couch cushions. "You took forever in there!"

"Well I had to wait for you to get the fuck out." Sasuke reminded him in a monotone voice.

"Yeah because you don't love me enough to take a shower _with_ me!" The blonde accused, dramatically falling over the side of the couch, clutching his chest as if he had suffered serious heartbreak. Sasuke rolled his eyes, throwing the now moist towel into a wicker hamper.

"I wasn't risking you getting horny again. What, did you swipe some Viagra from someone today or something?"

Naruto scoffed, sliding off the arm of the furniture and landing on the carpet, cheerfully. "Like I need medicine to help me get an erection." He sat up, raising his eyebrows in what he thought was a charming move. "I was just in a mood."

"A crazy mood."

"A sexy mood. And don't you act like you don't enjoy it, Mr. Sex Police over there!" Naruto fell onto his back, arching wantonly, his thighs spread apart, imitating Sasuke perfectly. "Ohhhh Naruto! Deeper!" He gasped, his hands clutching the carpet. "Ahhh! Oh God don't stop _please_, it feels sooo amazing!" He moaned in a breathy, high-pitched voice.

Sasuke frowned, at least having the grace to blush. "I don't sound like that." At least, he hoped he didn't. How embarrassing.

"Yeah you're a lot louder."

"Fuck you." The raven snapped, crossing his arms over his chest. "Like you're so cool during. In case you don't remember, when we first started having sex, you could _barely_ last long enough to do anything to me, let alone make me moan."

Naruto grinned, clearly undaunted by the past. "But I got better, didn't I?"

"Yes." Sasuke said grudgingly. "Sometimes I regret letting you practice so much on me." He sat on the couch daintily, crossing his ankles, brushing his hair gently with a round, wooden hairbrush.

"Aww, why?" Naruto whined, laying his head on his boyfriend's lap like a sick child.

"Because now you think you're some kind of Sex God."

"I _am_ some kinda Sex God!" He announced, nuzzling his face against the crotch of Sasuke's jeans, making the brunette scowl and push his head off.

"You are a legend in your own mind." The raven sighed, but he had to repress a grin when the blonde kissed his neck sweetly.

The knock at the door startled them both, but Naruto recovered faster, bouncing toward the door and yanking it open. "Ohh! Hey Haku! Hey Zabuza!" He said happily, letting the pair of them in.

"Hi!" Haku greeted them back cheerily, waving the stack of pictures in his hand. "Hi, Sasuke." He sat on the couch beside the brunette comfortably.

"Haku, Zabuza." He smiled at them both, but the gears in his mind were turning. What Naruto had told him earlier, about the two of them being a couple. He was watching for signs of intimacy, or affection. The man nodded politely at him, giving him a small smile. Sasuke was surprised that someone as seemingly bright and happy as Haku would be attracted to someone so. . . Gruff, Sasuke decided on the word. Although he seemed nice enough. Just a little guarded, or stoic.

He suddenly frowned, annoyed with himself. He remembered when he had first started dating Naruto, how many people had judged them, and their relationship. Well, regardless of age or personality clashing or anything, he wouldn't be one of those people who judged love. And who was he to talk about personality clashing? He and Naruto were as different as night and day.

"Something wrong, Sasuke?" Haku asked, snapping the raven out of his thoughts.

"No, nothing." He assured the boy, and smiled again. "So let's see these pictures. I think I want to frame one and put it in our bedroom."

Haku beamed with pleasure, and held them out like a hand of cards.

* * *

Both the black-haired males had pored over the pictures, Naruto and Zabuza talking amongst themselves in hushed tones. Well, as hushed as Naruto ever got, anyway. But the blonde had gotten excited at the prospect of the painting he loved framed and put in he and Sasuke's bedroom, suggesting they put it right over the headboard. He didn't mention the reason he recommended it's placement there was that when he was banging Sasuke on his knees on the soft mattress, he could look up and see it, and remember how much the raven loved him.

"So, Zabuza." The kyuubi began innocently, but his words were loud, and with an inflection that made Sasuke and Haku look up from what they were doing and stare at the pair of them.

"Yes?" He replied amicably.

"Sasuke and I are under the impression that you and Haku are, uh. . . Lovers, yeah?" He blurted out. Sasuke closed his eyes in aggravation, lifting his hand to his forehead, fighting off a deep blush. He absolutely detested when Naruto did things like this.

Haku blushed as red as Sasuke, his eyes darting to the three of them, not knowing what to say. He stayed silent, wondering if Zabuza would tell the truth, or play their relationship down. It occured to him that it would hurt his feelings irreparably if the man pretended as if there was nothing between them.

Zabuza cocked an eyebrow. "First impressions are often wrong." He began, then paused. "Haku and I aren't lovers _per se_."

The pretty boy's brown eyes lowered. Sasuke noted this, and bristled with anger. It was obvious that Zabuza was lying, and it had hurt Haku.

"But. . . " Zabuza frowned slightly, unsure of how to word it. "We do. . . Love. Each. Other." He said, each word coming out as if it were it's own sentence.

Naruto nodded, but still looked puzzled. "You mean you're _in_ love with each other, or you love each other like brothers?"

"_In._" Was all he said. Haku bit his lower lip, pleasure spreading visibly over his face. The man really did love him.

"Oh." Naruto said. "Well I was right, then."

And that was the end of it. But Haku was practically glowing afterwards.

After nearly an hour of chatter, the 4 of them decided they were starving, and should order dinner in, or go out to eat. They ended up at a somewhat popular restaurant not too far from the Uzumaki/Uchiha apartment.

"God, they're taking _forever_!" Naruto groaned impatiently. Sasuke huffed out a breath. Haku had to supress a giggle, he thought it unbearably funny watching the two lovers interact.

"Do you come here a lot?" Zabuza asked, leaning forward. The raven and kyuubi nodded.

"We used to eat here a lot, when we first started dating. We still do sometimes." The brunette said.

"When I was little, part of my homeschooling was-" Haku broke off, and lowered his eyes to the floor. "Well, it's stupid, you probably don't want to hear."

Naruto tilted his head. "What, why?"

Haku blushed. "Well, I mean. . . Just stupid stuff my parents made me do because they thought it was. . . Sophisticated." He said, shrugging.

"Tell us." Sasuke prompted. "We have to wait anyway."

Haku sighed. Zabuza sipped his drink, listening intently, and subtly glancing around the room. No obvious threats. But part of a bodyguard's job was constant diligence.

"Well it really was just, like. . . They would send Dara and I off, to this sort of restaurant thing once a week, for a lot of months. We know how to properly set a table, with a salad fork and soup spoon and all that. And they would make us taste wine. Not enough to get us drunk, of course!" He said quickly when Naruto's eyes widened. "But so that we can distinguish most of the different types."

"That's kinda cool." The blonde said. "I never tasted wine."

Neither had Zabuza, but he noticed Sasuke didn't add anything to the conversation. It somewhat reinforced his earlier assumptions that the raven was no stranger to money.

"They would also teach us how to throw a proper banquet, like with seven courses, and sorbet served in between and all that." He said. "Deidara really hated it." He remembered, smiling. "I didn't mind so much, but he would complain so much every Friday when we had to go." He sighed, resting his chin on his hands. "I remember once, my mom said 'If only you were more like Haku' to him, but. . . Now, I know that she really wanted me to be more like him."

"Why would you say that?" Sasuke asked sharply. Haku looked a little alarmed at his sudden seriousness.

"Well. . . I was kind of. . . A sick child." He said slowly. "Deidara and Kisame were always really healthy and could do everything. She didn't have to worry about them a lot." He looked down helplessly at his hands. Thinking of this sort of thing made him get a little emotional, but he'd be damned if he would embarass himself in front of his new friends. "I just feel she might have had an easier time if I had been stronger." He finished. He didn't want to talk anymore about it.

"That's ridiculous." Sasuke said quietly. "I'm sure your parents love you very much, Haku."

"I've talked to your mother." Zabuza added. "She dotes on you."

"Okay." Haku replied shortly. They didn't know anything. If they knew the way his mother looked at him, in comparison to the way she looked at Deidara, they would know. But they didn't. They couldn't. He had to fight the urge to scream out loud. Thinking of his mother always made him ache. And not in the hot, shaky way that Zabuza made him ache.

"Really." Sasuke said softly, his eyes suddenly sad. Haku's brows furrowed together.

"Are you alright, Sasuke?" He asked slowly. He glanced at Naruto, who was staring at Sasuke with an extremely concerned look in his eyes.

"Yes, I'm- . . . I'm fine, ok?" The raven said quickly. He stood swiftly, flying out of the wooden restaurant chair as if there had been nails sticking out of it. "I just need some air. Or a c-cigarette, I'll be right back!" He cried, and nearly sprinted from the room, knocking a female waiter back.

Haku's eyes widened like saucers. He turned to Naruto helplessly. "I'm sorry!" He said. "I didn't mean to-"

"It's not your fault, Haku." Naruto interjected. He sighed sadly, staring at the tabletop. "Sasuke's parents. . . They're uh. . . Dead."

Haku gasped, his hands flying to his mouth. "Oh God that's awful."

"Yeah, they died when he was 12. Well. . . They didn't _die_ like normal. They were murdered."

Haku whimpered behind his hands. How could he be so stupid? "Oh Naruto you know I didn't mean to."

"I know! He's not upset with you." The blonde promised, shaking his head quickly. "Um, excuse me for a minute, let me go check on him. I'm sure he's fine, it's just. . . He gets kind of upset sometimes."

"Of course." Zabuza said. Naruto stood, hurrying out, following the same way Sasuke had gone. When the blonde was out of earshot, the bodyguard frowned. "It's ridiculous to feel guilty, Haku. You didn't say anything wrong."

"How can you say that?" The boy hissed. "I reminded him that he's an _orphan_."

"He's upset, but not at you." The man struggled to explain. "Like. . . If someone mentioned something about-" He stopped abruptly.

"What?" Haku gestured for him to continue. Zabuza shook his head. _Shit. _He had been so close to mentioning what had happened to the boy all those years ago, with Orochimaru.

"No, it's. . . Just. Well, uh-" He floundered, his mind reeling, searching for something, anything to say in place of what his original intentions had been. "If someone mentioned something about. . . Rape." Oh, like that's much better, Zabuza thought bitterly.

Haku's eyes lowered. "Oh." He wrung his hands together, shifting uncomfortably. "Well. . . That's not really the same thing, you know. And anyway I wasn't. . . _Raped_." He whispered, glancing around as if everyone else in the restaurant was listening to them.

"From what I heard-"

"I don't want to talk about it!" The boy snapped, making the older male's eyes widen slightly. "Sorry. I just. . . Don't want to talk about it."

". . . Right." Zabuza said icily. He sat up straight, clearing his throat. "My apologies." He said stiffly.

"Zabuza." Haku breathed out. "Please don't be like that." He hated the way the man could behave. It made him feel shut out, when all he wanted was for them to be close.

"You think I wanted to talk about that shit today?" He growled. "Do you think I wanted to admit to you all the things I did?"

"No, but-"

"No. Of course not. And you can't even talk to me about something that happened to you. You didn't even do anything wrong, it was just something that happened."

"Do you really want to know about it?" Haku asked slowly.

"Yes."

The boy closed his eyes for a moment. "Fine." He managed weakly. "I'll tell you everything. Like you did to me. I'll tell you later, when we leave." As if it was their cue, Naruto and Sasuke ambled back in, taking their seat. Zabuza leaned back, his eyes slitted, not able to come back with the response he wanted to say.

"Sorry." Sasuke whispered. "I just needed some air."

"It's fine." Haku assured him. "I'm really sorry, Sasuke."

"No." The raven smiled a tiny bit, shaking his head. He looked serene for a moment, before saying, "It was a long time ago. I'm grown now."

"But it's okay if you get a little upset sometimes." Naruto said quickly, covering his boyfriend's shoulder with his hand, rubbing soothingly.

"Yes." Sasuke agreed, waving a hand in dismissal. "But how could I possibly be upset now? I'm here with my lover, and my friends. And I'm pretty sure I see my linguine coming right now."

Haku grinned.

They ate heartily, talking amongst themselves, Haku explaining a little more about his intensive school training in the arts of the rich and sophisticated, Naruto telling them funny stories about when he and Sasuke began dating, much to the brunette's embarrassment. Zabuza told them all the story of when he had been ordered to investigate an abandoned house which had been rumored to have dead bodies in the cellar. He had discovered a nest of raccoons, and a ton of expensive jewelry, which he chalked up to the bandit-like animals tendencies to swipe anything shiny.

When their plates were empty, and they were all ready to go, they split the bill evenly. And made plans to hang out at the park in a few days, much to Haku's delight. He was glad Sasuke and Naruto seemed to like to hang out with him, as much as he liked them. He would have hated feeling like he was disrupting them, or bothering them all the time.

On the ride back to his home with Zabuza, he was silent, his mind racing with thoughts of his new friends. Sasuke, an orphan. Haku had never considered himself close to his parents but he couldn't imagine them being murdered. He wondered who had taken care of the raven after his mother and father had passed away. He wondered if Sasuke ever cried at night, or if he used to, when he was a young boy. He seemed so strong inside, calm and collected as if nothing bothered him. As if he was aloof to the normal, every-day troubles and habits of most people. Haku pondered if this was somewhat of an act, due to the fact that Sasuke might be extremely sensitive inside, and didn't want people to hurt him.

He sometimes thought that was why Zabuza seemed so cold.

* * *

"Thank you for today." Haku said sincerely, staring up into Zabuza's dark eyes. He was a full head shorter than the man, but he didn't mind.

"You're welcome." Zabuza answered, knowing what he was referring to. "I'm, uh. . ." He trailed off, awkwardly. "Sorry for arguing."

"No." Haku said. "You were right. You told me all that, and. . . I should tell you everything too." He bit his lower lip. "Tomorrow, I promise I'll tell you everything. I-" They both jerked, like kids with hands caught in the cookie jar when one of the doors in the hallway swung open; Deidara's room.

"Oh, you're finally back, un?" He asked Haku. "I've been waiting for you all day."

"Waiting for me?" Haku asked, curling his fingers around his own doorframe. He just wanted to snuggle into his bed and sleep.

"Well, uh." Zabuza cleared his throat awkwardly. "Goodnight then, Haku. See you tomorrow." He shut the door quickly and tightly. Haku barely resisted the urge to pout. He had wanted a goodnight kiss. Damn Deidara.

"Yes, waiting for you." The blonde said, tugging on his brother's hand. "I need to talk." He said quickly.

"Talk?" Haku asked stupidly, still confused. He and his brother had been somewhat close when they were kids, but not so much anymore.

"I don't know who else to ask, Haku. Please." His brother's huge sky blue eyes pleaded with him. The brunette sighed. He knew even if he refused and went to bed, he would feel unbearably guilty.

"Of course I'll talk to you." He said, and was immediately yanked into the blonde's bedroom, the door slamming behind him.

* * *

**Well, at any rate, I hope everyone has a happy holiday season, whatever holiday it is that you celebrate :) **

**And I'm REALLY satisfied with the progress of this story so far, and with my reviews, ESPECIALLY those from xHarumi-Chan, Zack, and Teddy. syn (without the space, apparently fanfiction doesn't let me put your username correctly xP) ! You see, I was going to stop posting at chapter 6, because I was hardly getting ANY reviews at all (If you notice, I got none for chapter 4 or 5), but now I'm really glad I continued, and I will continue. . . continuing xD **


	12. Love My Way

** So right around now is when I start developing side relationships, because if I ONLY focused on Haku and Zabuza, I couldn't keep this going as long as I want to. Hopefully you guys don't mind other pairings D; I don't wanna give away any spoilers, but I guess you'll see!**

**ALSO; My apologies for last night, I was super distracted and when I went to update, I posted the wrong one, and blah blah you know. So to make it up to you guys for being a ditz, I updated the very next day ;D Enjoy!  
**

* * *

Haku sat on the bed warily, trying to be subtle as he glanced around the room. It had been a long time, probably years since he had been in either of his sibling's bedrooms. Deidara was still unorganized and messy, horrifyingly so in Haku's opinion. Clothes were strewn all over the floor and bed. His desk was cluttered with papers and pens and various other items that didn't belong there at all. Some of the things on the shelves needed an intense dusting, and he wondered seriously if anything needed disinfecting. At least the bed seemed clean, he thought, staring down at the bedsheet discreetly.

"I need some advice." Dara repeated.

"What kind of advice?" He asked, mystified.

"Love advice." The blonde cooed in a mock seductive voice, sitting cross-legged on the opposite side of the matress. It was huge, the bedsheets bright red with gold ornamental swirls all over it, and at least a dozen fat pillows. It was so. . . Flashy and ostentatious. Haku wondered if Deidara knew how indicative of his own personality it was.

"I. . . Don't know how much help I can be, but I guess I can try."

"If I was more like you, I wouldn't have this problem." The blonde admitted. Haku's eyes widened. Before he could ask what his brother meant, he continued. "I met a guy."

He met a guy? Haku thought, frowning. Big deal. As far as he knew, Deidara had 'met' a lot of guys.

"I really like him, un." He said. "I've never felt this way before."

"Good." Haku said, smiling immediately. As farfetched as it was, Haku had always preferred people to be paired off into couples, instead of a single person, alone. And he supposed he had been right all along, even before he had fallen in love. But all the cliches were true. He saw colors brighter, heard music sweeter. He was genuinely happy for Deidara. "How long have you been seeing him?"

"I'm not." He sighed. "That's the problem."

"So you. . . Have a crush?" He asked bluntly, surprised. He didn't think boys like Deidara got 'crushes'. The word crush made him think of a guy in a suit with a bouquet of flowers ringing the doorbell and promising the parents the date would be innocent and over by 10:00.

"I don't think so. It's more than that." He said adamantly, gesturing helplessly with his hands. "I know it's kind of. . . Unbelievable, un, but. . . I've never known anyone like him before. You know what I mean?"

Haku knew exactly what he meant. "I think so."

"Well. . . He's amazing. He's such a great guy. I really like him." He said, nervously playing with his long hair.

"That's great." The dark-eyed boy said sincerely.

"No it isn't." Deidara groaned. "He doesn't even know I exist."

"You haven't talked to him?" Haku asked incredulously.

"I have!" He cried, yanking a fluffy pillow up and punching it in frustration. "I've _tried_." He specified. "Every time I try to talk to him. . . I end up making myself look like an idiot. Plus. . . He acts like he's not interested in me at all."

Haku tilted his head. "Does he. . . You know? Like guys?"

"Yes!" The blonde nodded. Haku wondered why the guy wouldn't be interested. Sure, Dara was a little hard to take sometimes, but most guys seemed to like him. He was attractive, and friendly. "His name is Sasori." He supplied, as if it mattered.

"Hmm." Haku hummed. "Well. . . Why do you think he's not interested?"

"He just. . . Acts like he isn't." He shook his head, sighing. "I asked a few mutual friends about him, you know. . . Asked about the kind of guys he usually dates."

"And?"

"Ugh." Deidara rolled his eyes. "Apparently he just got out of a relationship. I guess it was pretty serious, because everyone says he was real broken up about it and all. They told me his ex was. . . Really sweet. And shy. And innocent." Haku cleared his throat softly. Deidara was cute, but. . . Haku would never have described him as shy. And definitely not innocent.

"Well. . ." Haku trailed off, thinking. "But just because you're not, that doesn't mean you don't have a chance with this guy, right? I mean. . . They broke up. So obviously the shy and innocent thing didn't work out."

"But if that's the sort of guy he likes. . . I'm screwed." He sighed, then frowned. "In the figurative way." He tacked on.

"I'm sure if you just keep letting him get to know you, he'll like you." Haku said confidently. "You know how to charm people."

"I think he's immune or something." The blonde said sadly. "Gosh, it sucks liking someone who doesn't like you back. This has never happened to me." He leaned back against his bright gold headboard, that featured a large swirling flower pattern. "Love is so complicated, un." He said, sighing dramatically.

"I know." Haku answered truthfully, shaking his head. "It's like. . . You look at everything differently."

Deidara looked up, eyeing him. ". . . Yeah." He agreed. "But how would you know?"

Haku blushed. "I, uh. . . I wouldn't really. But I've heard-"

"Oh. My. God." Deidara's eyes were suddenly huge, as if someone had just told him there was life on the moon. He gasped loudly, covering his mouth. "You!"

"Me?" Haku asked weakly, feeling his face heat up even more.

"You're in love." He accused.

"No!" Haku denied, shaking his head. "Don't be ridiculous, how could I be?"

"Oh my God, I'm _soo_ stupid!" He cried. "How could I not have seen it before? It's SO obvious."

"What is!?" Haku snapped, eyes narrowing.

"You and Zabuza." The blonde purred, tapping his lips with one finger. "Jeez, you really like them old, un."

"He's not old!" Haku cried, forgetting to even deny he and the bodyguard's relationship. He mentally groaned, covering his face with his hands.

"Oh my God, you really are." He whispered in awe. He waited until his brother peeked one dark eye between his fingers. "Oh wow." He repeated.

"Please don't tell." Haku begged, wanting to burst into tears. Zabuza would be so angry if he found out. . . "Please." He said again.

"Who would I tell?" Dara asked, rolling his bright blue eyes. They reminded Haku of cloudy marbles.

"Anyone." The teenager specified, his voice desperate. "Please, if Zabuza even knew that you knew. . . He'd be pissed." He whispered.

"Why?"

"Because. . . He didn't want anyone in my family to know about us. He's worried."

"About?"

"About everyone thinking it's like. . . Like it was with Pain."

"Is it?"

"No." Haku said quietly. "It's nothing like that. I love him." He confessed.

"Have you. . . Done it?" Deidara asked, leaning forward.

"No." Haku said quickly, looking to the side. "He wants to, like. . . Wait." He explained, faintly embarrassed, though he didn't know why.

"Aww." Deidara cooed. "That's sweet. I bet he loves you."

"He does."

"Oh wow, you're so lucky." He breathed.

"A minute ago you said love was complicated." Haku pointed out.

"It is but it's _so_ worth it." He said, then raised his eyes to Haku's. ". . . Isn't it, un?" He asked quietly.

Haku cocked his head to the side. "Have you ever. . . ?"

"I don't think so." He admitted.

"It's worth it." He said honestly. "It's. . . The greatest thing. And when I hear him say it. . . It makes me feel like my chest is going to explode. In a good way."

"I wonder if a guy will ever fall in love with me." Deidara sighed.

"Maybe Sasori will." Haku said cheerfully, smiling. The blonde grinned back at him.

"I'm going to try not to hold my breath on that."

"Just be yourself. And. . . Be nice to him." Haku suggested. "I really don't think there's anything else you can do."

"You're probably right." Deidara nodded. "Anyway. . . Thanks for your help. I'll let you go to bed now."

"It's really no problem." Haku said sincerely. "I'm happy to talk anytime."

"We should talk more. We hardly ever do anymore."

An hour previously, if someone had asked Haku if he thought he and Deidara should talk more, he probably would have said they talked a good amount. But he definitely agreed now. He would like to be closer to his brother.

* * *

Haku woke in the morning early. He could tell it was eary, because his head was groggy as if he had slept too few hours, and he couldn't hear noises and voices. He moaned a little, rubbing his face in his pillow, wanting to go _back_ to sleep. He was still tired. He wondered if it was an emotional kind of tired. Or maybe his body was just subconciously dreading seeing Zabuza.

For the first time since he met the man, he wasn't excited to talk to him, to look into his eyes, to just be near him. He was afraid. He hoped to any God there was that Zabuza wouldn't hate him for what he would tell him about Pain Rikudo. Not to mention if he found out that Deidara knew about he and Haku. The brown-eyed teen hadn't yet decided whether he would tell the man or not. He knew his bodyguard would take it better hearing it from him, but maybe it would be better if he didn't find out at all? At least until he thought it safe for _everyone_ to know.

He rubbed at his eyes gently, so as not to make them red or puffy. Taking a deep breath, he stood, and made his bed neatly and perfectly, so there wasn't a single crease in his bedspread. Much like Deidara's flamboyant one, Haku's fit his personality, and again, similar to his brother, it never crossed his mind. The deep turquoise of the comforter was like a dark seafoam washed up on a shore, the much lighter teal of the pillowcases striking against it. There were no patterns or designs on it, but the white headboard was styled in a somewhat older, Victorian-esque style, versus Deidara's modern one.

He stood in front of his mirror, frowning, and decided to take a shower.

Washing slowly and effectively under the hot spray, he took comfort in the familiar ritual of soaping and rinsing. The teenager took special, deliberate care to shampoo his hair twice, and then conditioner, before stepping out. He dried off, peering at the clothes he had pulled from his ` closet, wondering if Zabuza ever noticed what he wore. He sighed, doubting it, as he slipped on snug, light-colored jeans, tucking the pockets in so they were perfectly smooth all the way down his legs. He pulled a white top over his head, and remembering that it had been chilly lately, wrapped a thin black and white striped scarf around, letting the frilly ends dangle at his waist, and the small of his back. He frowned, wondering whether it looked tacky to wear a scarf with a shirt that drifted an inch or so above his jeans, exposing his bellybutton when he moved or stretched a certain way. He decided he didn't care.

He dried and brushed his hair longer than was necessary, so it fell straight as rain down his back. When he was satisfied that he had taken long enough to get ready for his day, he exited the bathroom and tiptoed down the stairs.

"Morning, Haku." Kisa said cuffing him in the ear, in a brotherly gesture. Haku frowned, fixing his hair subtly. The older man laughed. "Aww, somethin' got you down this morning?"

"No." He said, and forced a smile on his face. "I'm fine, Kisa. I just. . . Spent a lot of time brushing my hair so I didn't want it messed up."

"Don't know how you and Deidara can stand havin' all that hair." He said, shaking his head. "That would drive me crazy."

"I like it." He whispered, stroking a hand lovingly down his soft, silky hair. "And Deidara's isn't _that _long."

"Yeah not in comparison to yours." The oldest Hoshigaki brother agreed. "Give you $50 to cut it?"

Haku cocked an eyebrow, crossing his arms over his chest. "Not on your life, dear brother."

He laughed heartily, giving him a good-natured punch to the shoulder. "Ahh, you're always good for a laugh. So how's it goin' with your new muscle?"

"Fine." Haku answered quickly, knowing 'muscle' was what Kisa used to refer to a bodyguard. "He's a nice guy." He added.

"Good." He answered, eyeing him up and down, before speaking again. "He doesn't. . . Make you ever feel uncomfortable?"

"No." He replied, praying a tell-tale blush wouldn't creep over his cheeks. Zabuza made him uncomfortable, but it was a really nice kind of discomfort. "You'd like him if you got to know him." He added.

"I'm sure." He said amicably.

"Anyway, I was just on my way down to my studio. I'll see you later." He said, and hurried down, glad Zabuza hadn't spotted him. He sighed, collapsing on the couch, glaring up at the ceiling.

* * *

The brown-haired escort tromped down the stairs. He had knocked on Haku's door, but to no answer. The bathroom was empty, but the mirrors were fogged like someone had showered recently. The boy usually came to see him as soon as he was awake. His eyes narrowed. Was the pretty brunette really avoiding him?

Feeling more annoyed than he should have been, he stomped the rest of the way into the kitchen. Pushing through the doorway, he slammed through.

"Ow!" Deidara cried out, as the door popped him in the ribcage. He rubbed his stomach, glaring at the taller man. "Where's the fire?"

"Sorry." Zabuza answered, wincing when the blonde lifted his shirt to poke tentatively at a spot that would surely turn into a bruise. "Really sorry." He repeated. The man yanked open the freezer door, pulling out an ice cube, and stuck it to the sore area with his thumb, his other fingers gripping around his narrow waist. Deidara gasped, the ice freezing his skin, but he didn't jerk. By the time they both realized this was somewhat of a compromising position, the blonde glanced down at his body, where a single drop of water melted off the cube, dripping down his torso, over his ribs and bellybutton and sinking into the waistband of his jeans. He resisted the urge to make a sexy face, or lick his lips, or flutter or his eyelashes or anything. It occured to him that all of those things were habits ingrained in his mind like breathing, but there was no way he was going to flirt with the guy his brother was in love with.

Both of them jerked apart, when the kitchen door swung open, Kisame's friendly smile fading immediately. He eyed them both suspiciously. "Something goin' on in here?" He asked. Deidara cleared his throat.

"I, um. . . Well I banged my ribs on the door, un, and he was just getting me an ice cube." He said, and pulled his shirt down.

"Oh yeah?" Kisame cocked an eyebrow. "Well go put an ice pack on it. They're in the bathroom." He said, and both men watched the blonde scurry out of the kitchen, acutely aware of the sudden tension. "You and my brother seem to have gotten awfully close, Momochi."

Zabuza nearly snorted, thinking of how close he and Kisame's _other_ brother had gotten. He had a sudden, lucid image of waking up with Haku's hand gripping his cock. "I accidentally hit him with the door, and so I felt like it was my responsibilty to get the ice for him. I thought it might numb the sore spot." He said calmly.

"You some kinda doctor now?" He asked mockingly.

"It doesn't require a medical degree to know ice keeps swelling down." He retorted. "I'm not interested in Deidara. You don't have to worry about that." He added flatly. Kisame didn't look convinced. "I understand you're worried. I know what happened with Haku."

The look in the man's eyes softened. "Yeah. I'm the one that found them. . ."

"I know. Nothing like that is going to happen again. You have my word." He said stiffly, hoping that Kisame would forgive him when everyone did eventually find out about he and Haku.

"Alright." He relented. "Sorry to seem like a jerk. But. . . I gotta look out for 'em, you know?"

"I know." Zabuza answered. He tried a small grin. "I get it."

"Got any siblings?"

"No." He actually might have, he thought. But he hadn't seen his mother since he was 16, and he had no plans to see her anytime soon. She was probably dead by now, anyway. He wondered if he would have felt any sort of grief if he learned about her death. Maybe an impersonal kind of sadness, like you feel when you read about a murder in the newspaper. Because that was what she was to him, he supposed. A stranger.

"Well, maybe if you did, you'd know what I mean." He said, but then smiled back. "So anyway, Haku went down to his studio." He said. "He probably wanted you to go down."

"Sure he did." The bodyguard said, forcing the calmness into his voice. "So I guess I'll go see what he's up to. See you later."

As he walked away, he let his breath out. _Dodged a bullet there, Momochi._ He opened the door slowly, and shut it quietly, hoping the boy didn't hear.

He hadn't, Zabuza concluded, as he silently padded down the stairs, and saw him stretched over the couch, hair curtained over his face, hiding it. He was snuggled into the cushions, and probably sleeping. His breathing was even and regular. He walked silently, looming over the small teenager, staring down at him. When he didn't move, the bodyguard's hand floated down, moving the soft hair away from the boy's face, letting it slide down and fall over the end of the couch.

He looked younger, and somehow even more innocent in sleep. His lids were closed, the lashes thick, and so long the tips practically brushed his cheekbones. His mouth was open slightly, and looked too soft to describe. Zabuza couldn't help leaning down and pressing his own lips firmly against it. He felt the boy stir under him, moaning breathily, his mouth opening. "Zabuza?"

"Mmhmm." He growled in his throat, forcefully parting the teen's lips with his teeth, his tongue slipping into the sweet cavern. He felt Haku's hands slide up into his short hair, and hold there, as their mouths moved together. "I'd hope nobody else would be kissing you like this." He said, nipping the beauty's swollen bottom lip hard, making him gasp.

"No, never." Haku said, slightly dazed, his eyes fluttering still, from being asleep. He practically purred when his guard's large hands cupped his face, tilting slightly so his tongue could touch every corner of his mouth. He felt the man's lips leave his, then press against his forehead. Then over both his eyelids, his temples, then his cheeks.

"Awake yet? I'm running out of innocent places to kiss." He murmured. Haku laughed.

"Yes I'm awake. . ." He looked into the man's dark eyes playfully. "Unless you want to keep kissing. There are plenty of other places left. You just have to find them."

"I said innocent." Zabuza reminded him, grasping his body and moving it over so they could sit together on the somewhat small couch. He felt Haku snuggle into him as he wrapped a strong arm around the boy, protectively. He glanced over at the stairs that he had come down. There was a wall blocking the top half of them, so someone that came through the door would have to come down several stairs before he and Haku were in eyesight.

"So move onto somewhere not innocent." Haku tempted him.

"What would you suggest?" Zabuza inquired, raising a brow. Haku turned pink.

"I. . . I don't know. Anywhere." He said, shrugging.

"You don't know what you ask." The escort said dully.

"I know exactly what I'm asking." Haku retorted, irritated. "Do you think I'm a child?"

"No." He said. "Yes." He corrected himself. "I don't fucking know, okay?" He snapped out, his eyes flashing.

Haku took pity on the obviously conflicted man, wriggling into his lap and pressing himself against the muscled chest. "If I was a child, would I think of you like this?" He whispered. It was all coming naturally to him now. Being seductive and wanton. It must be instinct, Haku mused, as he watched Zabuza's eyes glaze over with obvious lust, despite the fact that the man's arms held Haku back a few inches. He lifted his delicate mouth against the older male's hard one, satisfied with the predictable results of his bodyguard's tongue sliding between his lips. He sucked the man's tongue lightly, in the way he knew drove him crazy. Pulling away before they could get too heated, Haku let a hand rest on Zabuza's upper thigh, seemingly innocently. "Is this the way a child acts?" And then his hand was pressed against the stiff bulge, fingers cleverly moving. The man nearly shuddered from the promise laced into that soft voice, and his bold movements. It was pretty obvious that the escort could do anything he wanted to the gorgeous teen, with no argument or resistance.

Haku's voice was sex incarnate suddenly, just the breathy words making his fingers itch to stroke the boy's satin skin. _Was_ this the way a child acted? Admittedly, Zabuza had never spent any time around children, although he doubted that kids had the ideas of rubbing men's erections through their jeans. "Haku." He bit out through his teeth. "You know I don't think of you as a child. I can't."

"Then why do you treat me like one?"

"You behave like one when you conciously avoid me to keep from telling me about your past." He said flatly, ignoring the sparks of pleasure racing through his body. Although he would have liked nothing better than to flip Haku's body over on the annoyingly small couch and fuck him into the squishy cushions, he stood firm on his decision.

Haku looked shocked for a second, eyes widening. His hand stilled on the man's crotch. His cheeks lit in what could only be described as a cherry-red blush. And all of it vanished, as if it had never been there. The provocative, confident boy that had sat so temptingly in Zabuza's lap was replaced by the shy, quiet one the man had always known, and had fallen for in the first place. "I. . . I was afraid." He admitted, his head lowering to rest on the man's hard shoulder. "I'm sorry. I didn't think you would notice if I avoided you."

"You thought wrong." He deadpanned. "Did he really do something so heinous to you, Haku?" He growled. He would find the prison the man was in and kill him himself if that was the case.

"No, not really." Haku said miserably. "But. . . It made me feel. . . unclean. I didn't want you to think of me as dirty."

"I don't." He answered. It was true, he didn't. In his mind, the boy was like the whitest, purest virgin snow. He could only hope he didn't spoil it by tainting him with his own blackness. "Just tell me exactly what happened."

Haku nodded, and took a deep breath.

* * *

** Not exactly a cliffhanger, but sort of! I'm not good at the whole suspense, cliffhanger thing. I wish I was though, that would make for some good writing. Review!**


	13. Gonna Smile and Not Get Worried

**So I've pretty much decided the pairings I'm going to have in this fic. Obviously ZabuHaku, and NaruSasu~ But the 2 brothers will have side relationships as well. Which I plan on developing, so they will have a larger part in the story, albeit not as much as Zabuza and Haku of course! **

** ALSO; In case anyone wants to talk to me, and has msn or yahoo instant messenger, they should add me; ohsnapcouture [at] hotmail . com - I like making friends (: **

* * *

"For the longest time, I wasn't allowed out at all. My mother and father. . . They just didn't want me to leave. I don't know why." He said, before Zabuza could ask. At least, he thought the man would. In truth, the bodyguard knew exactly why Jaken and Emily wouldn't let him out. "But then when I turned 17, they told me they were hiring a bodyguard for me. Someone to follow me around at all times, make sure I was safe." He said. He was speaking quietly, but Zabuza's trained ears could hear every word, inflection, tone, and breath. He supposed it was a good thing, since Haku often spoke in a nearly inaudible volume. "I was excited." Haku admitted. "I had never been allowed to just. . . Leave before. To go to the park, or the movies, or to get ice cream like other kids. I wasn't really a kid anymore, but I was still excited. I shopped a lot." He confessed, smiling a little. "That's why I have so many clothes."

"I like your clothes." Zabuza said, before he could think about not saying it. He had always been incredibly good at keeping his mouth closed, and not saying things that would incriminate him. But with Haku, he was comfortable enough for anything to just tumble out of his mouth. Which wasn't always a good thing.

"You like my clothes?" Haku repeated, smiling sunnily.

"Hn." He answered with a grunt, slightly embarrassed. When Haku bit his lower lip to keep from laughing, he relented grudgingly. "They're. . . cute on you."

"Thank you." The boy answered softly. He burrowed back into the spot between the man's arm and side, and continued talking. "For about the first 3 months or so, it was really great. Pain was. . . He was a little strange, but I thought he was an alright guy. But he had this way of. . . Looking at me." He said, wringing his hands together. "It was so. . . Intense. I felt like he could see right through my clothes. Or even through me." He added, tilting his head. "Anyway. . . One day, he just started asking me weird things. If I'd ever had sex, if I even wanted to have sex, that kind of thing."

Zabuza ignored the lick of temper he felt begin in his blood, and reminded himself getting angry about this would serve no purpose. _Just comfort Haku_, his mind chanted over and over.

"I told him I hadn't, and. . . I didn't really think I wanted to. Not yet, anyway." He added. "But you know. . . I guess at first. . . I kind of liked it." He would always, _always_ feel guilty for those first few times, when he had seriously considered giving his innocence to the orange-haired man. When he had craved male attention enough to give up everything just for it. Nothing anyone ever said, or anything he ever did could change the fact that he had almost done it. Willingly. "He would kiss me, and tell me how sexy I was." He whispered. He didn't want to look Zabuza in the face. It was too humiliating. "And. . . I had never felt like that before." And nothing could ever change the fact that the first time that Pain had crushed their mouths together, Haku had experienced one blissful moment of stunned pleasure and total abandonment, before he had pushed him away, panting, his eyes wide and shocked.

"Everyone has moments like that, Haku. You didn't do anything wrong."

"I let him touch me." He said quickly, It wasn't meant to argue, it was simply a fact. It was obvious to the brown-haired man that nothing he said could convince the boy that he wasn't guilty of some kind of sin. "He told me he wanted me. Wanted me to. . . Let him do things to me."

He wriggled out of the man's grip and walked over to a bookshelf, leaning against it, still not facing him. Zabuza let him. He knew what it was like not to want someone to touch you right then. ". . . I didn't want to do _everything_. But I would have let him."

"Why?" Zabuza couldn't stop himself from asking. "Why didn't you just tell him no?"

"I did." Haku said softly, finally looking his bodyguard in the face. The man's fist clenched beside him when he was the beautiful cocoa eyes were shimmering with tears that had not fallen yet. "Just not at first. I let him, kind of. . . Touch me over my clothes. It wasn't a big deal. We would kiss and he would put his hands all over me." He sighed, and walked back over to the man, sitting in his lap. "Is this grossing you out?"

"No." He said, wrapping his arm around to lock the younger male to him. "Keep going."

"Some of the times when we would do that, he would get really. . . Excited. Sometimes he got kind of rough, but I guess that's okay because I never told him he was hurting me."

It wasn't okay. Not to Zabuza. Thinking about the gorgeous teenager like that made him want to rage.

"Anyway, sometimes he would. . . You know." He stumbled over the wording, blushing. "He would kind of. . . Grind our bodies together when we were kissing, and a lot of times he would. . . Come." He felt Zabuza's body tense, and lowered his head. "Zabuza, I've never talked about this with anyone before. I'm sorry I'm not very good at it."

"You're fine." He said softly, to conceal his anger. He let his hands raise up to cup the boy's face, and kiss him sweetly. "I. . . I love you." He said, feeling like the words were glass, cutting his throat on the way out of his mouth.

"I love you too!" Haku gasped, the response tumbling out easily. He blushed a little, but his eyes were sparkling, the tears evaporated as if they had never been there. "Wow." He said quietly.

"What?" The man asked, shifting so the boy was buried in the crook of his thick arm.

"It sounds really. . . Nice. Coming from you."

Zabuza snorted a little, and kissed the boy's neck hard. "Are you feeling a little better about getting all this off your chest?"

"A little." Haku confessed. But he hoped Zabuza wouldn't think less of him.

"Then keep going." He prompted, and felt the boy's hot face nuzzle into his shoulder, his words slightly muffled by cloth and skin.

"And I was okay with that, but I was afraid someone in my family would find out. I guess he was, too, because he made me swear I wouldn't tell anyone. I didn't." He added. "I liked the feeling of. . . Making someone feel good." He said. "I know that isn't the way I should have done it, but. . . He liked it, and. . ." He trailed off miserably.

"I get it. It's alright." He repeated. His anger was beginning to ebb, leaving only a dull irritation. If he ever saw Pain Rikudo again with his own 2 eyes, he was more than certain it would only be for approximately 1.5 seconds. Which was the time Zabuza needed to pull out a gun, cock it, and fire. Or maybe he could take the bastard out with his bare hands. He was certain he could, but it would definitely be messier. Although it would be satisfying to wrap his hands around the man's throat, squeezing hard enough to make his ugly eyes bug out of his head, his own hands panicked and scratching. He would talk to him while he did it, Zabuza mused. Tell him how great Haku was. How sexy and perfect. And how the boy belonged to him now. He liked to think the pretty teenager would have appreciated his fantasies.

"But then he started doing things I didn't like." Haku continued. "He would, like. . . Bite me sometimes. On the neck, and my mouth and everything." He trailed off, eyeing his current guard. "I don't mind things like that." It had made his insides go liquid when Zabuz had nibbled on his lips. "But he made it hurt too much. And he didn't care that I didn't want him to."

He leaned forward, kissing the man quickly. "Zabuza." He whispered against the man's ear. "You're really hot when you look at me like that."

"Like what?" His mind had turned to mush at the feeling of the boy's mouth against his ear, his breath hot. But he wished Haku wouldn't distract him. He was trying to learn everything he could about the incidents that had taken place.

"Like you'd do anything to protect me." His dark eyes had been intensely serious, flashing with obvious fury.

"I would." He answered.

"I know." Haku said simply, laying his head on the strong chest, comforted by the hard heartbeat. "Can I keep going?"

"Please do." He said, stroking a hand all the way down the length of his spine, lifting his fingers just before they touched that perfect-looking, firm ass. His fingers itched to touch, but he knew this was definitely not an appropriate time to feel the boy up.

"I asked him to stop. A lot. He called me a frigid tease. He said I knew what I was doing, when I. . ." Haku trailed off again, sighing. "He said I acted sexy on purpose. To make men lust after me, and then I turned them away because I got off on teasing. I'm not like that." He said quickly, cheeks turning pink again. ". . . Am I?"

Zabuza frowned, eyes narrowing. "No." How dare that fucking Rikudo make the boy think that he was doing something wrong? "Haku. Even if you _did_ tease him and provoke him, which I know you didn't, it still wasn't right of him to force himself onto you." He took a deep breath, exhaling slowly. "You aren't a tease, Haku."

"I'm glad." He said quietly. He turned so his face nuzzled in the chest muscles. He could smell the man's scent. It made him feel warm and safe. "One night. . . He was really. . . Needy." He decided on the word, but didn't particularly like it. Needy didn't describe the horrible look that had been in his eyes. It had reminded the teenager of a lion ready to devour it's prey with teeth and claws and death. "He was being really rough. He was biting me all over, and presing into my body with his hands."

"Pressing into your body?" Zabuza snapped sharply, his eyes lighting up.

"No!" Haku said quickly, shaking his head, his cheeks red. "No, he wasn't pressing. . . _into_ my body. Not like that. But he was digging into my skin. I told him he had to stop, he was hurting me, and he told me boys like me like it when it hurts."

Zabuza didn't say anything. He could feel his blood throbbing in his veins. He wanted something to punch.

"He told me I would like it, and he was sick of me teasing him, anyway. He said that I'd thank him for it later. And. . . He started taking my clothes off. I tried to stop him, but he's really strong. I didn't want to cry or to beg him to stop." Haku said softly.

"Why not?"

"When I did that before. . . He liked it."

Zabuza gritted his teeth, his hands tightening dangerously on the boy's arms, making him whimper.

"Ow, Zabuza." He felt the man's hands loosen immediately. "So I just kind of. . . Didn't cooperate. But I couldn't help crying. I know it excited him, so I tried not to let him see but he saw, anyway. He was hurting me so bad. He pulled my hair really hard to get me to do what he wanted."

Zabuza's stomach clenched, his breath shuddering out. He sincerely hoped Haku was almost done. He was glad the boy was getting it off his chest, and he was glad he knew what happened. But it was making his blood pressure shoot through the roof.

"But Kisame came into my room, to ask me a question." He lowered his eyes. "You know. . . He didn't knock. Kisame had never came into my room without knocking before. That leads me to believe he knew something was going on. I'm just really lucky he came in when he did. . . " He said, then look up, their eyes connecting. "The end." He finished.

"That's it?" Zabuza asked, shifting again, resting his chin on the soft crown of the boy's hair.

"Mmhmm." He said, snuggling. "Well. Kisame grabbed him, and threw him against my wall. And yelled at him. And broke his nose. And other stuff. Then Father came in, because he heard banging noises." He sighed. "He told them I'm the one that wanted him to do it, and Kisame hit him again." He laughed quietly against his guard's throat. "He hit him so much I thought he was going to kill him. But I guess he didn't, because I heard he's in prison now."

"Yes." Zabuza said. "He is."

"Then Mother and Father weren't going to let me have another one. But I begged them to, because. . . I didn't think everyone was like that. So they started requesting favors from your boss. . . And I guess they decided he was trustworthy."

"And he decided I was trustworthy." Zabuza retorted, wondering if Gatou would still consider him so, as his fingertips drifted down to stroke the small strip of exposed skin between the boy's shirt and pants. It was warm.

"I can't imagine what I would do if I had never met you, Zabuza." Haku confessed softly. He raised his face up to kiss the man's jawline.

Zabuza grunted in response. He didn't want to think of having never met Haku. "What are we doing today?"

"Mm, I don't care. Anything." The boy sighed. "Let's go shopping." He said suddenly, giggling when he felt Zabuza's hands go limp at his sides.

"I've never. . . Shopped like that before." He said. Buying clothing was simply a necessity for him, not some kind of joy ride. Not that he had ever had enough money to do so anyway, even if he had desired skipping merrily thorugh a crowded department store paying way too much for clothes, just for the fun of it. The mental image of himself doing so made his eyes narrow.

"Do you mind?" Haku asked. "I'm really in the mood. And, um. . . Winter is coming. I need more winter clothes."

". . . I don't mind." He said.

"Will you hold all my bags?" He whispered, nuzzling his lips against Zabuza's collarbone.

"Yes." He said flatly.

"You're the best." He breathed, hugging his neck tightly. "When can we leave?"

"Whenever you want."

"I want to ride with just you." Haku sighed. "But I'm afraid we may have to take the limo."

"Why is that?" He had never ridden in a limo before.

"We have to have room for all my bags!" He said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. He laughed at Zabuza's blank expression. "You really are new at this."

"Apparently so." He agreed, and could barely contain a groan when the boy wriggled in his lap temptingly. "Stop."

"Stop what?" Haku asked, his long, overly flexible legs in Zabuza's opinion, moving to rest on either side of the man's body.

"That." He was hard again. This was insane. He wasn't a teenager anymore, he was _long_ past puberty and raging hormones. So why was his body ready to fuck at the drop of a hat, practically anytime the boy even glanced in his direction?

"You don't really want me to stop." Haku pointed out, their foreheads pressing together. He shifted, so their hips were pressed together perfectly.

"No." Zabuza admitted, his breath coming out slightly harsh. He let his hands slide up soft thighs and hold the boy's rear, reveling in the pink blush that rose to the teenager's face, although the man could have sworn he looked just a tiny bit smug. God, he was built perfectly, every part of him seemed to drive the man crazy with desire. "Ah, Haku." He couldn't think of anything else to say when the boy's hand gripped him through his jeans again.

"Hm?" He asked. He could feel how hard the man was, practically bucking into his hand.

"You have to stop."

"But you make me so happy. I want to make you happy, too."

Zabuza didn't want to argue with that logic, although the boy made him happy constantly, without sexual favors. "Nngh." He couldn't help but moan a little when his hands began to stroke harder. "Haku." He snapped, pulling the boy's hands away from between his legs.

"Zabuza. . . Nobody's going to come down here and check on us." He wanted to feel that thick, pulsing cock in his hands again, but this time, watch the man's eyes burn with need. For him. "And. . . I want to relieve you."

Zabuza's eyes trailed down from the boy's pretty face, down his slender torso, to his long, awkwardly spread legs. He was hard too, probably achingly so. He closed his eyes, inhaling deeply.

"Let me relieve _you_." The man managed to grit out between his teeth, opening his eyes to see Haku's own tawny orbs widen.

"W-what?" Haku stuttered, blushing. He felt his body throb when the words echoed in his head. "Zabuza, you don't have to- Ahhh!" He moaned loudly when his bodyguard's hard mouth latched onto his chest, his tongue coming out to flick his nipple through the somewhat thin fabric.

"Shh." He hissed, raising his head, glaring. "Do you want Kisame to come down here and break _my_ nose?"

"I think you could take him." Haku whispered, only half jokingly. But he clamped down on his lower lip with his teeth again, and was reminded vividly of stroking himself to orgasm in the shower, trying desperately not to let anyone hear. He felt the man's hot, wet mouth suckling him through the stupid shirt, and wanted nothing better to rip it off. "P-please. Just take it off."

Zabuza lifted a brow. "I'm not taking it off. If someone starts to come down here, you wouldn't have enough time to put it back on."

Haku gripped the hem of his shirt, lifting it, and holding it to his neck, eyes wide. The man smirked in response, lowering his head again. He kissed both of the teenager's slightly narrow shoulders, tasting the sweet skin, before moving back down to the seemingly overly-sensitive nipples. He let his large hand maneuver up the soft, flat belly, his calloused fingertips rubbing one. It pebbled under his skilled movements, making Haku gasp out, lifting his free hand (The one not clutched in Zabuza's hair) to cover his mouth. He whimpered against his palm, when the man's tongue unbearably slowly laved his other nipple.

Zabuza wanted to lick and kiss every inch of the boy's body, until he was screaming and writhing and begging, but he knew that wasn't an option. Not right now, anyway. But he could only imagine how sexy it would be to get the teenager frenzied and desperate for release. "Be quiet." He warned again, his hands swiftly unbuttoning the boy's tight jeans, sliding them down Haku's slender thighs just enough to free the teenager's erection.

Haku took a deep breath, feeling like he was going to faint. His head felt light and dizzy, like the most incredibly intense vertigo. He couldn't believe this was actually happening to him. Not like he didn't _want_ it to, but he hadn't really expected it to. Not anytime soon, anyway, with the way the man would always push him away when it came to things of a sexual nature.

Haku was gorgeous everywhere, Zabuza concluded, resisting the urge to nip and suckle his hipbones, and the sensitive, shallow dips of his inner thighs. As much as he wanted to, he didn't want to be caught. And he had the feeling no matter who it was that came down the steps, they wouldn't appreciate the image of Haku, his jeans around his knees, with Zabuza's face in his crotch. So getting it over with quickly was key, although he did feel a miniscule passing of guilt. He was pretty sure this was the boy's first (willing) sexual experience of his own, and it shouldn't have been rushed. But the guilt passed quickly, when Haku bucked up, moaning loudly behind his fingers, practically begging the bodyguard with his huge brown eyes. He figured Haku wouldn't want him lingering anyway, not this first time, when he seemed to be dying of desperation and the man hadn't even touched his cock yet.

Oh god, Haku hoped he didn't embarrass himself by coming too obscenely quickly. And then, in a flash, he had not thoughts, no hopes. The only thing he could do was moan, and the only thing he could see was the ceiling, and even that was blurry and hazy. His hand clenched in Zabuza's hair hard enough for it to hurt, but Zabuza ignored it. He was hardened to pain, so a little hair-pulling was pretty minor to him. And anyway, it just showed how unaware the pretty teenager was, what with the man's lips teasing his dick and all.

Zabuza dragged his sharp teeth across the dark head of Haku's cock, before obligingly flattening his tongue and taking it into his mouth, moving down quickly and efficiently, until the tip of his nose brushed the boy's quivering belly. He was pretty experienced at this kind of thing, and although Haku wasn't _small_ down there (especially for the petite size of his general body), but he wasn't huge. Again, the word **perfect** floated dreamily through the man's mind like a bright, scrolling marquee.

He was dying, burning up irrevocably, his skin singing. He couldn't move, but he certainly couldn't stay still. He wanted to scream, but he knew even his hand wouldn't muffle it enough. It felt so amazing for his throbbing length to be against Zabuza's hot tongue. Everything just felt so amazing. "Z-Zabuza!" His voice was high-pitched and whiny, humiliatingly so, but he didn't have the presence of mind to be embarrassed. The man's scorching mouth was burning his sensitive, formerly untouched by another person, flesh but in the most exquisite way.

The man could taste precum on the back of his tongue, feeling a spark of smugness and pride. He bobbed his head in a rhythm, not agonizingly slow, but not fast enough to make Haku shriek and give them away. He needed it to end faster. To not only please the boy, but to please his throbbing fingertips, his stroked up the trembling, silky thighs, slipping his hand under his the boy's body, gripping his balls.

"Zabuza! Ah! Please!!" He was mindless now, his head thrashing to the side, his hips undulating. "AH!" He cried out again, forgetting altogether to be quiet, forgetting everything. He felt one of Zabuza's hands leave his body to clamp over his mouth, hard. Harder than he would have liked under normal circumstances, but he supposed he couldn't complain. But he was too far gone to process the fact that the man took explicit care not to cover his nostrils, too.

The escort knew he was clinging to that slippery, dangerous edge by his fingers, only inches away from the grand insanity of release. He hummed in his throat, knowing the vibrations would push him through it.

Haku's mind completely blanked. His eyes became huge, and his body went stiff. His hands tightened. His body arched at a nearly impossible angle and he screamed against the firm palm of the man's hand. It was big enough to silence it for the most part, at least to someone far enough away as the door. But Zabuza heard it.

He pulled back slowly, greedily swallowing every hot spurt of milky cum, tasting it on his tongue and feeling it coat his throat thickly. He pulled back completely, narrowed eyes trailing up Haku's flushed, quivering body, to his face, which was pink, his eyes half-lidded, filled with adoration.

"Oh, wow, Zabuza." He whispered between heavy panting. He groaned a little when the man's lips connected with his, his nose wrinkling at the bitter taste of himself. He couldn't say anything else as the man's hands tugged up his jeans over his hips again, buttoning them and straightening his shirt perfectly.

The bodyguard sighed, sitting their bodies up, staring into the teenager's face intensely. He didn't know what to say. Especially not when Haku was staring at him with that soppy, slavish look in his pretty face. It was kind of endearing. His thoughts were quite rudely and abruptly interrupted, however, when he heard the knob on the basement door rattle slightly, and the door open.

Haku's eyes widened, but before he could even make a move, Zabuza had yanked him up harshly from his half-laying, half-sitting postion and shoved him to the end of the loveseat, hard. Haku gasped out as his head was shoved down against the arm. "Pretend to be asleep." The man snapped softly, covering the boy's flushed, damp face with his hair. He swiftly moved across the room to the armchair, and tried to not to look suspicious. Like he couldn't still taste Haku's cum on his tongue.

The steps were quick and bouncy and before the slim, denim-clad legs even appeared, followed by a long body, and bright blonde hair, Zabuza had known. "Oh, is he asleep, un?"

"Yes." Zabuza answered flatly.

"Ah, well I just wanted to tell him I was leaving. I'm going to a party. I wanted him to, uh. . . Wish me good luck with what we talked about, un." He said, tucking his hands in his pockets, and grinning sheepishly.

"Good luck." Haku said softly, peering at his brother through his dark strands of hair. Zabuza glanced at him, and hoped Deidara wouldn't pay enough attention to figure anything out.

"Thanks." The blonde giggled, and turned back, racing up the stairs. He slammed the door shut behind him, and Zabuza exhaled, sinking down into the armchair. Haku smiled from across the room.

"You're funny, Zabuza." The man only cocked an eyebrow.

* * *

** xP Deidara makes me laugh. He is such a cutie-pie. Review :D**


	14. I Seem To Be Struck By You

**I realize Sasori is 35 in the show (But he made himself into a puppet so he retains the IMAGE of a teenager), but obviously I cannot have him 35 (and obviously I cannot have him regenerated as a puppet; This story is supposed to have MINIMAL supernatural elements in it, if any at all), and Deidara 19-ish, so I am making him a few years older than Deidara for the purposes of my fic. I tried hard to keep everyone at their respective ages (+ 2 years, because Haku was 15 in the show, and I wanted him to be 17, so I just aged everyone by the equal amount of years) EXCEPT Naruto and Sasuke, and apparently now Sasori D:! I hope nobody is getting really anal-retentive about me changing so much stuff to fit my twisted story~ (. . . Obviously me) **

* * *

Deidara paused at the tall, oak door, glancing down at himself one final time. He was dressed in his usual attire, which consisted of jeans that fit him like a second skin, and usually a t-shirt of the same clingy proportions. He didn't think anything of it, it was kind of how everyone dressed. Everyone with a good body, anyways. But today he was self-concious, about his hair, his clothes, everything. Everything had to look good.

He had been to this house many, many times, been to parties here a lot. But this time we different. Sasori Akasuna was behind this door somewhere, in the big house. Not as big as his, but it was still a nice house, in a nice neighborhood. Lots of bedrooms and space. He tried not to think of the things he had done in some of the bedrooms of this very house.

He sighed, discouraged. It didn't matter, anyway. Sasori wasn't interested in him. That had been made painfully obvious, numerous times. Why was he still clinging to the pathetic ideas that maybe the auburn-haired man was harboring anything but contempt for him? He wrinkled his face up in disdain at his whiny thoughts. He was Deidara-fucking-Hoshigaki, damn it! He could get anything he wanted. Anyone he wanted, for that matter!

Rolling his eyes up at the sky, he opened the door and entered the party, much to the delight of several of the attendees, as they greeted him amicably. He smiled, immediately feeling at ease. And anyway, he didn't see Sasori. Maybe he wasn't even here yet. Maybe he wasn't even coming. He couldn't decide if that would be a good thing or a bad thing.

He decided to forget about being perfect to impress Sasori, and just be himself, like Haku had told him. After all, who was the one that had a real man for a boyfriend, who was nice to him, paid lots of attention to him, and had obviously just been doing something sexual down in the darkroom/basement? Deidara wasn't an idiot. He knew when two people were knocking boots. He made a mental note to ask Haku all about it later.

* * *

"Eh? Are you sure you should be mixing alcohol, Deidara?" One of the blonde's best friends asked him, raising an eyebrow calmly, as the pretty Hoshigaki heir downed a shotglass of pink tequila, and immediately after, reached for a tall clear bottle.

"I'll be fine, Neji."

"You've never even had vodka."

"I'll be fine!" He repeated, frustrated. It had been at least 2 hours since he had arrived, and already Sasori had given him one of those _looks._ A look that plainly said 'Go home, little boy. I'm not interested.' It had made Deidara nearly grit his teeth in annoyance, but being the stubborn boy he was, he had disregarded it, pretending it wasn't there. And had exited the room, heading determinedly to the kitchen where there were dozens of tall, glass bottles filled with whiskey, liquor, rum and any other kind of alcohol he could drink himself into feeling better with. There was a keg, but the taste of beer made Deidara sick.

"If you say so. I suppose this means you're designating me to carry your limp, unconcious body from here later this evening, then?"

"If that's your perogative." The blonde answered irritably. "Or just leave me, I don't care, un. I want to get wasted."

"What is your problem?" He hissed, leaning down close so they could speak at a volume that everyone in the room wouldn't hear, despite the ear-shattering music blaring from the large, expensive stereo system.

"Nothing."

"It's that guy, isn't it?" He asked bluntly, his eerily light-colored eyes dull. Deidara didn't answer, just poured more of the clear liquid in a shotglass, downing it in one swallow, coughing when it was all down. It burned his throat like embers, but it made him feel warm inside. "I knew it. Get over it, Deidara. He's a creep, anyway. Do you see the way he stares at people?"

"He's deep." The blonde snapped. "You just don't understand him. . . He's an _artist_." He finished, pouring something he didn't exactly know what was, into a large glass, about 3/4 of the way. It was fizzy and fruit-flavored. In total aggravation, he filled it the rest of the way with vodka, and set all of the bottles down.

"Oh, and you do? You've barely talked to him."

"I can just tell." He said, resting a hip against the counter, sipping his concoction.

"Sure." Neji answered cooly. "You know, I've never seen you so hot for anyone before. Especially not for a guy like Sasori."

"Hush!" Deidara griped. "Someone will hear you, un."

Neji nearly smiled. His friend didn't realize that his little crush on the strange, chestnut-eyed man was pretty obvious to anyone with half a brain. Then again, thinking was never Deidara's strong suit, he thought, nearly sighing. Neji had always been the brains of the operation, the blonde acting as a charmer. They were a good team. He watched in only slight annoyance as the enchanting boy stumbled slightly, partly feeling a sense of endearment toward him. Maybe getting drunk out of his mind would help get rid of the ridiculous feelings of affection for that freak, Sasori.

* * *

He didn't know how much time had passed, but when he stumbled over to the sliding glass door, peering out of it, the sky was navy blue, dotted with silver, twinkling stars. It was pretty, but he had no time to dwell on it. He turned back towards the much smaller now crowd of people, several of the, he knew very well, several of them he didn't know at all.

"Feelin' okay, Dei?" He heard a slow drawl from somewhere behind him and agonizingly turned.

"Yeah everything's cool." He answered, his words slightly slurred from the excessive amount of alcohol in his system.

"You look like hell." He answered, tilting his head. "Maybe you should lay down."

"You thinking laying down is the answer for everything, Shikamaru." The blonde answered after a minute of registering the words.

"Yeah, but. . . Come on. Look at you."

Deidara tried to look at himself, but then remembered his eyeballs were inside of his skull, not on the outside. "I can't." He answered flatly. He felt the tall, black-haired boy's hands wrap around his upper arms, pushing him towards somewhere he didn't know. He stumbled, falling flat on the ground, Shikamaru tumbling with him onto the hardwood floor. He giggled, despite the pain in his stomach from the fall. "Jeez, can't you even walk, Nara, un?" He asked, his blue eyes hazy and unfocused.

"Sure." He answered, glaring. He stood, heaving the boy up with ease, and shoved him into a doorway. The blonde fell directly into a soft bed, with a down comforter over it. However, he was far too intoxicated to appreciate the softness. "Sleep it off, Hoshigaki." He instructed, flicking off the light and leaving the blonde in the room by himself, closing the door.

Deidara sighed, straightening himself on the bed, his head smashed into the soft pillows. Did he have his shoes on? You should never wear shoes in bed. He tried to sit up to check, but couldn't. Fuck.

Giving up, he tried to slide into sleep.

On the other side of the house, Shikamaru approached Neji and the owner of the house, Lee. "Hey. I tumbled Blondie into bed a minute ago. He's still in there. Just lettin' you know."

"Excuse me?" Neji asked him, eyes narrowing slightly. The lazy guy gave him a weird look.

"He's drunk as fuck. I put him in bed and left him there to sleep it off." He rephrased the sentence.

"Oh." The long-haired brunette said quickly. "I thought. . . Right. Yeah, thanks. I'll get him out of here soon. I kinda want to let the edge wear off before he goes back home. He doesn't like to be wasted at home."

"Whatever." Shikamaru said, walking off unconcernedly. Lee gave Neji a look, eyebrows raised almost comically.

"Do you think he is alright?" The overly-expressive teenager asked.

"He'll be fine. I'll give him an hour or so to nap." They continued to talk amongst themselves, neither of them noticing the auburn-haired man standing near them, somewhat hidden in shadows, in the corner of the room. He grinned a little, stalking off toward the direction Shikamaru had come from.

* * *

Oh god he was sick. So, so sick. He could feel his stomach rising up to his throat like a rubber band, but he was afraid if he moved at all, even his pinky, he would puke everywhere. And he loved these jeans. He whimpered, his eyes fluttering pitifully. Rolling so slowly it was hardly movement at all, he looked beside the bed. There was a wastebasket. There really was a God.

He grabbed it quickly, sitting up with difficulty, resting his forehead on the edge of it. Fuck, what had he drank? It felt like there were living things in his body, rolling and shaking. He hated throwing up. It was disgusting. But he was quite afraid he didn't really have a choice in the matter at this point.

Retching, his body went limp, surrendering to the sensation of releasing everything bad in his system. He barely heard the door open, and close nearly immediately. "Neji?" He managed to groan before throwing up more, his body trembling.

"Guess again." The voice was deep, and gravelly. A voice unlike any other he had heard before from anyone else, but a voice that had echoed in his mind for the past several nights. It wasn't a playful tone, despite the mocking words.

Oh god. Fabulous. Deidara could barely muster up the energy to groan, before his body tensed. Before he felt himself begin to vomit again, he felt a hand that wasn't his brush across his forehead swiftly, tucking his extraneous bangs back. He whimpered weakly. It was Sasori. Nobody could speak like that. Why of all people, was his crush the one seeing him puke his guts up in a spare bedroom?

"Wouldn't wanna mess up your signature, now would we?" The man asked quietly, almost getting a sadistic feeling of pleasure from watching the stupid boy get punished for his alcohol indulgence.

"Signature?" Deidara whispered, resting his heated forehead back on the cool ledge of plastic.

"Your hair." He answered shortly, watching the boy dry heave for another 10 seconds or so, before he figured he was probably finished.

The blonde didn't answer, but pushed the trash can away from him for a moment, finally feeling as though he was done. His eyes widened in surprise as a hand towel was shoved into his face. He took it gratefully. It was damp with cold water.

"Drink this."

"I can't drink anymore, un. I'll die." Deidara answered, shaking his head pitifully.

"It's water." Sasori growled. He watched as the boy drank it quickly, eyes closing in pleasure as some of the awful taste was dispersed from his mouth. "Not too good at keeping your liquor down." He commented, earning a glare from melted sapphire eyes, framed in black. "Tolerance to alcohol is directly related to your body size and weight." The man said. "You're too skinny to drink so much." He added, feeling as though he were doing the blonde a favor by putting it in layman's terms.

"I'm not skinny." Deidara answered quietly. "I'm toned."

"Not from where I'm standing." And where he was standing, the view of the teen's long, slender body in form-fitting clothes was impossible not to notice.

"I can't help that you're in a distorted position, un."

"What position would you prefer me in?"

Deidara blushed, crushing the little paper cup between his fingers, not looking up into those sexy chestnut-colored orbs that had the tendency to lock onto something and keep there for minutes at a time. He didn't want to get hypnotized. "Err. Sasori. . . I appreciate you-"

"You would make an excellent puppet." He interrupted, and watched those baby blue eyes finally raise up to look at his face, puzzled.

". . . Pardon, un?"

"You." He repeated. "Would make a good puppet." He leaned forward, their faces so close their eyelashes nearly brushed. "I can tell you want someone to take control of you." His voice was deadly quiet. Deidara opened his mouth to speak again, but was cut off. "I like to take control of people."

The blonde froze, staring, his mouth trembling open. Sasori pulled back slightly, smirking. He didn't know what to say. "Tell me I'm wrong." He prompted, referring to his claim that he wanted to be taken control of. "Or can't you?"

"You're not wrong." He found himself whispering, his cheeks heating up.

"I rarely am." Sasori retorted. He pushed the teen back onto the pillows, gathering up the towel and the mangled cup, and then the horrifying wastebasket.

"What are you doing?" Deidara asked, afraid to move off the pillows that he had been shoved onto. Sasori was awfully pushy, but he guessed he didn't mind. It's not like he was some wuss who got freaked out about a guy being a little rough with him.

"Cleaning up _your_ mistakes. Or are you blind as well as ditzy?" He walked into the connecting bathroom, and Deidara heard the toilet flush and the sink turn on. He frowned, rolling over onto his stomach, hiding his face in the cold cloth.

"You don't have to."

"I'm aware."

". . . Are you drunk?" The blonde asked, not knowing what else to say. What was the sudden helpfulness? An hour ago, he had gotten the feeling the man would have rather spit on him than be in the same room with him, especially cleaning up his vomit.

"Drinking lost it's fun after I became old enough to do it legally." (1) He answered, setting the clean can back beside the bed. "I like to be in control of my mind as well. I don't want my judgments and actions to be hazy and clouded."

"Oh." Deidara answered somewhat weakly, letting his head drop back down. "Thank y-"

"Tell me something." He asked casually, scraping a wooden chair across the floor, letting it stop beside the bed, and sitting in it. Deidara huffed. He was tired of getting interrupted. All he wanted to do was thank Sasori for helping him. But when he looked into the eyes that reminded him of the color of a penny, he forgot his aggravation. All he could do was nod helplessly. "Why are you so obsessed with me?"

Nobody had ever been that blunt before to him. Then again, he thought, though he could feel his cheeks hot as fire and knew they must have been red, nobody had ever been so rude to him before, either. Then again still, nobody had ever taken care of him while he was vomiting into a trash can in someone's spare bedroom. _He held my hair_, Deidara realized with a slight jolt, his heart tumbling in his chest. "I don't know." He answered honestly, and buried his face back in the pillows.

"Got any scars?" He asked conversationally, giving Deidara a look that was nearly genuinely nice, if it hadn't been for the arrogance behind his eyes, and the cool amusement. But the blonde had always found arrogance incredibly sexy.

"Only two, un." Deidara answered. "That I know of."

"Where?"

"One on each palm." He said, holding them out so he could look. Somewhat large X shapes covered his otherwise delicate-looking palms. They weren't neat or straight like what a doctor would make. They were messy, white scars against white skin, and looked like the cuts had been extremely deep.

"Self-inflicted?" Sasori asked sharply.

"Yes." Deidara answered. "But probably not for the reason you're thinking. I wanted to be blood brothers with someone." He smiled a little bit, a pretty smile, that was neither arrogant nor cold. Sasori effectively fooled Deidara into thinking he didn't notice the sweet grin, but he noticed.

"You're lucky you didn't end up with AIDs or Tetanus." The man retorted cruelly, but his eyes had softened. "You have actual blood brothers, don't you?"

"Yes, two. One younger, and one older."

"Ah. Of course."

"Of course what, un?" Deidara asked, confused.

"The middle child always craves attention." The blonde frowned at this. "You disagree?"

"I don't _crave_ attention. I get plenty of attention."

"That's because you crave it, so you work to get it."

Deidara opened his mouth to argue, but stopped. "You don't know as much about me as you think." He retorted haughtily.

"Is that so?"

"Whatever your friends have told you is probably exaggerated, un." The blonde said angrily. Of course Sasori knew about him. Everyone did, didn't they? Why else would the man have come in here and pretended to actually care if he lived or died?

"Can you tie a knot in a cherry stem with your tongue?"

". . . Yes." He said quietly, looking at the bedsheets, his fists clenching. He felt himself tremble, but not in weakness this time. With rage.

"Then not all of it was exaggerated." Sasori shrugged. Deidara jerked up, flying out of the bed with the speed and force of a freight train. He pushed past the copper-haired man in his chair, determined to go through the door and get out of here. Before he embarrassed himself further.

"What are you doing?" He asked loudly, his arm gripping the blonde's elbow hard enough to bruise. Deidara hissed in pain, yanking his arm away.

"Let me go!" He snapped, pulling back hard enough to make himself stumble back and land on his ass, hard. He groaned, burying his face in his hands.

"Are you insane?" Sasori asked, nudging his shoe against the boy's hip with more force than was necessary.

"Yeah!" The teenager cried.. "I'm so fucking insane. Now let me out of here."

"Not until you tell me what's the matter with you." He leaned over, grabbing the boy's arms and lifting him, knowing he would most likely leave bruises. He was all too satisfied to see fear flicker in the azure eyes, before they narrowed.

"I. . . Misunderstood your intentions." It was humiliating to have assumed someone like Sasori had actually been interested in him for anything more than a quick fuck. What had he been thinking? He must be drunker than he thought.

"Intentions?"

"Yes." God, he didn't care about being embarrassed anymore. He didn't care about anything anymore. He just wanted to get away from Sasori. Now. "Please let me go." He could feel it welling up inside him, his frustrations every day thinking of how Sasori wasn't interested in him coming to a screeching climax. He could feel the waves of emotion building, seconds away from crashing and exploding inside him.

"I'd like to know what you seem to think my _intentions_ are." Now he was angry as well, but Deidara was too upset to see it.

"Please please please, un, let me go." He said, wriggling to no avail. He felt his back hit the wall, Sasori still looming over him, eyes stormy. He wouldn't cry. He wasn't a crybaby. He was Deidara. He could handle things. He didn't need to be some pathetic damsel in distress. He wouldn't shed a single tear over a guy, not ever.

"Tell me." Oh god, his eyes were stinging. He was fighting the tears. . . And losing miserably.

"You want to fuck!" Deidara screamed, bursting into tears. He went completely limp, and would have slid down the wall if it hadn't been for Sasori's hands holding him up. "You want to fuck me." He sobbed, tears pouring out of his eyes and down his cheeks, so hot he wouldn't have been surprised to see his skin scarred with burns later. He was quivering, his whole body shaking. He didn't want to look into those copper eyes.

He had always known that was all guys wanted him for, until that fucking bastard Sasori had made him forget. Made him forget that he wasn't good for anything except for a guy to fuck. He was too stupid to be someone's actual boyfriend, and too much of a slut. Who would want him for a boyfriend, anyway? He felt sick again. He wanted to stop crying, but it was like once he had began, everything needed to pour out of him before his emotions could close back up again, and be guarded. He was all too vulnerable right now. It was dangerous.

"Who said I want to fuck you?" Sasori asked, his voice no different that it had been. It was almost as if he had no emotions at all.

"Why else would you come in here, huh?" Deidara asked him loudly, glaring through his wet, shimmering eyes. His head lolled forward, hanging, as the rest of his body was forced to be stiffly pressed against the unrelenting wall. Neither of them spoke for a long time, the russet-haired man just listening to the sobs and whimpers becoming softer and less frequent.

"You know." He began, for just a moment, pressing even that much harder into the boy's soft skin, making him gasp and jerk his head up, eyes wide. "You're cute, Hoshigaki. But you're awfully conceited."

"Then you tell me." He challenged. "Tell me what you were thinking when you came in here."

"Before or after I saw you vomiting?" He sneered slightly. If the blonde hadn't been so distracted, the thought might have occured to him that Sasori had come with a towel and a cup of water, before he had ever seen that he was sick.

"Before." The tears had stopped now, Sasori concluded, although the teen's face was still wet with the proof of them.

"I was thinking you would make an excellent puppet." His voice came out low, like a growl. "You're aesthetically pleasing. Like art."

"Yes. I know. I know I look good, okay?" He said, feeling worse by the minute. "If only my body could have come with brains or something."

"Well, you can't have everything." Sasori replied. "Why don't you just appreciate what you have, instead of making yourself miserable over what you lack?"

"I-" He began to speak, but for what seemed like the hundredth time that night, was interrupted. The guest bedroom door flew open, the backside of it slamming the wall, and Neji stood, looking livid. "N-Neji." Deidara wondered what it must look like to his friend, him being held against the wall by Sasori.

"Deidara. I'm leaving. Come on." When the blonde didn't move, the Hyuga heir heaved a sigh. "I know you can't drive right now. Just come on." He turned, stomping uncharacteristically off. Deidara glanced back at Sasori, who immediately loosened his grip, and let the blonde step away from him. He wondered what on Earth his usually mild friend was so pissed about.

"Don't get into any trouble before the next time I see you." The man instructed.

"Next time?" Deidara asked, feigning puzzlement, turning away and heading toward the door. He thought it was a decent exit line as they went, but Sasori spoiled it by grabbing his shoulder and yanking it back.

"Yes, next time. And for the record, **I don't share**." He hissed. "So don't let me hear talk of you and some other guy until then."

Deidara stared at him incredulously for several seconds, before turning on his heel and racing out of the door, and out of the house. He slammed his friend's car door, peering at him questioningly.

"Neji, un! What is the matter with you?" He asked, blatantly ignoring any thoughts of that damn Sasori until he knew what was going on with his friend.

"I'm just pissed." Neji deadpanned. "My cousin just called me and told me she saw my mom and dad going through my stuff, looking for something. I need to get home and catch them doing it. I can't believe they would go behind my back like that."

"Oh!" Deidara said, eyes wide. "Wow, I'm sorry, un. . . I thought you were mad at me about Sasori. . . "

"No." Neji said oddly, head tilted. "I know how much you like him. Sorry for, uh. . . Interrupting."

"You weren't _interrupting_." Deidara sighed. "We weren't doing anything. Just talking."

"I usually manage to talk to people without having them against the wall, looking at them like I'm about to eat them alive." Neji pointed out, but he was clearly still miffed about his parents.

"Thanks for driving me home." Deidara said, obviously dodging Hyuga's words, and nearly threw his hands up in amazament at being able to actually get out a sentence to thank someone.

"No problem." He said, and smiled a little. "Call me tomorrow." He said, pulling into Deidara's driveway, a few minutes later.

"Sure." Deidara answered, bouncing up the stairs to his house, still a little tipsy.

He tried not to think of the hangover he would have in the morning. He tried even harder not to think about the next time he would see the scorpion(2), and the fact that the over-possesiveness that should have given him a creeped-out feeling made him feel wanted.

* * *

** (1); The legal drinking age in the US, which is where I reside, is 21. Sasori was referring to the fact that he's 21. I didn't want anyone to get confused since I know legal drinking age varies among countries.**

** (2); Sasori's name translates to scorpion, and I have a tendency to use the animals in which correlate to the characters (Naruto kyuubi or fox, Itachi weasel, Kisame shark - If Iruka were a character, dolphin for him) as a reference. Didn't want anyone confused ^^; **


	15. We're All To Blame

**I wasn't quite sure how to phrase in the story that THIS chapter is going on at the same time as the last chapter, so. . . There you go. While Deidara is getting wasted and connecting with Sasori, Zabuza and Haku are doing. . . this? **

** (Offical apology for long pause between updates in next chapter's author notes) ~ My internet is fucking up at home and I'm in the process of getting it fixed so I don't know when I'll begin updating more regularly again but I'm trying guys. I'll even upload the chapter after this one right away since you waited so patiently!  
**

* * *

It was the first time he had ever been inside a limousine, and he was acutely uncomfortable. He supposed it would have been 1000x worse, if Haku hadn't been beside him, happily chatting. It was insanely accomodating, the compartment that they were in didn't have seats, but more like a long section of seat, that reminded Zabuza of a curved couch. Towards the front of the vehicle, there was a screen that could be rolled up or down, and even a bottle of what he presumed was juice or soda in a bucket-type thing filled with ice cubes, considering Haku's age, but was probably champagne or something when someone over 21 was riding. The window was a privacy screen, Haku told him softly, and proceeded to flick the switch that would roll it up, hiding he and the man from the view of the driver, and judging by the black tint of it and the other windows, they would be hidden from _everyone's _view.

"Haku, what are you doing?" Zabuza muttered, trying to remain calm as the privacy screen sealed to the top.

"Relax." The boy assured him. "I always roll it up. And anyway, the chauffeur isn't like Bindi or Parkins. We have a different one all the time, just the same company. It's not like they report back to Mother and Father."

Zabuza scowled, unconvinced, but willing to trust the teenager. "Whatever. Where are we going, anyway?" He asked, and tried not to smile when the boy's brown eyes lit up.

"The city." He said, smiling.

"How much do you plan on spending today?" Zabuza wondered out loud, and Haku grinned cheekily. He reached into his front pocket, slipping out a gold credit card, waving it in front of the man's eyes. "Ah." He said, surprised. "Do you have a limit?"

"No. This card is for personal use, as much as I want." Haku explained, pushing it back into his jeans. He glanced up at Zabuza. ". . . I rarely use it." He added, and the man knew it was because the brunette didn't want to seem spoiled or greedy.

"It's okay. You're entitled to buy clothes." He said quickly. He knew Haku wasn't spoiled or greedy, and the boy seemed satsified with his answer, since he rested his head on the man's shoulder.

"I like your car so much better." Haku sighed, when Zabuza's arm automatically curled around him, holding their bodies together.

"Hm? My car?" Zabuza asked in surprise. "Why the Hell would you say something like that?"

"It's more. . . Comfortable." Haku said slowly. "I like when it's just me and you together."

"It's pretty much just me and you now." Zabuza muttered, unsure of whether he liked this particular fact or not. It was tempting.

". . . You're right." Haku said, and smiled mischevously.

"Haku." Zabuza said warningly. He knew exactly what the boy was capable of, and he knew his own body was in a somewhat twitchy, vulnerable state. Sucking Haku off had been sexier than he had ever imagined, and had left him feeling way too turned on for his liking, with no way to relieve himself. Had he not been trained in all arts of explicit self control, he knew he would have simply taken the boy right then and there, no matter what.

"Zabuza." He whined, uncharacteristically.

"Don't tell me you're horny."

"I'm not." Haku said pointedly, slanting his eyes. "But you are."

"That's not important."

"When will it be?" He asked, frowning.

"Excuse me?"

"When are you going to have sex with me, Zabuza?" He blurted out. Not the most dignified to go about asking, but damn it, he was sick of getting pushed away. He was almost starting to believe the man didn't even want him. Which, of course, couldn't have been farther from the truth.

Zabuza heaved a sigh, staring at the ceiling. "We can talk about this later. Just have fun today." He suggested. When he saw the boy's cocoa eyes lower, he kissed him softly on the lips. "It's not important right now. I love you."

"I love you, too." He wondered how long it would take for his heart to stop flickering in his chest every time the man uttered those three little words. He breathed contentedly and leaned back against the soft seat. "I guess you're right."

* * *

It had been approximately two hours by Zabuza's internal clock. He would have checked his watch, but he couldn't figure out a way to lift his arm without toppling the extremely precarious stack of boxes in his arms. Not particularly heavy, but awkward. "Mm." Haku made a little noise in his throat, and glanced up at Zabuza. "Ok, let me check those out so you can go put them in the lim- car." He corrected himself, glancing around at the few people standing around them. It was obvious he wasn't _trying_ to draw attention to them, but it was hard not to attract the attention of people who you were buying nearly everything you came across.

He waltzed up to the counter, to a woman who, with raised eyebrows, watched Zabuza set everything down. She quickly scanned it all, and said a number that made Zabuza nearly choke. Haku glanced back at him concernedly, before handing her his card. She ran it through the little machine, punching the necessary numbers, and then handed him the little electronic pad for him to enter his pin. He did so, and smiled when she printed out and tore a long, long receipt and handed it to him. He shoved it in on of the boxes, and looked back at Zabuza who picked them back up, and walked to the large electric sliding glass doors, without another word. As far as he was concerned, this was all part of his job.

"Have a nice day." The woman told him, and Haku nodded.

"Thank you." He said, walking past Zabuza out of the doors and into the bright sunlight. It wasn't too cold today, but it wasn't warm. It was a perfect temperature. He motioned to the limo driver, and the trunk popped open, where Zabuza carefully aligned the boxes inside and then slammed it closed. "Hungry?" Haku asked him, barely resisting the urge to hug the tall man, and press his face into that wonderfully muscled chest that was somewhat hidden by a loose-fitting t-shirt.

"Are you?" Zabuza asked, and Haku nodded. "So am I." The teenager wondered if he had declined being hungry, if the man would have declined being hungry as well.

"There's a really nice little bistro type thing about a block from here." Haku said. "I go there every time I'm shopping."

"Alright." The man said agreeably, and watched Haku lean into the front window of the limousine and tell the driver to just turn the car off and wait while they ate. He assumed that meant the boy wanted to walk the block, instead of riding.

When Haku's body was still half-way in the window of the vehicle, Zabuza let one finger drift to the waistband of his pants and felt the hard outline of the gun. He remembered checking it this morning, and putting his knife in his backpocket as a back-up plan. When Haku pulled back out and turned, smiling prettily, Zabuza smiled a little back.

As they walked, the escort kept a hyper awareness of everything. The pattern of Haku's shoes slapping the pavement, making sure they never got too close to the curb, where he might trip and fall into the busy street. The people passing them by, if they made any sudden movement. The cars, if they looked suspicious, or slowed while near he and the pretty teenager.

When they reached the place, it was tiny, and not too crowded, but it seemed elegant. There was classical music straining from somewhere, and all of the tables had a small pot of white flowers and a long tapered, ivory candle with a flame flickering on top. It was intimate and discreet, but they were seated quickly and had their drinks ordered within minutes.

"When I'm older," Haku began, glancing around wistfully, and speaking in a hushed tone, "I want to come to this place and order some fancy wine or something."

"You have a long way to go before you're old enough for wine." Zabuza answered, and then frowned. He hated coming to the conscious realization that the boy was _so_ much younger than him.

"Yeah. But three years should come and go like that." Haku said teasingly, snapping his fingers. He glanced up into the man's face and noted the stormy looks. "Something wrong, Zabuza?"

The man hesitated only a fraction of a second. "I just don't like thinking about your age."

Haku nodded, eyes lowering under thick lashes. "Will it be different after I turn 18? Will your feelings have changed?"

"Yes." The man said firmly. "You'll be an adult."

"I'll be the same person. I'm not going to grow up overnight, you know. I'll be exactly the same."

". . . Then I guess it's just me." The escort growled. He eyed the boy, who leaned forward, resting his chin on his hands, his elbows on the table, a direct contrast to the restaurant around them, which practically oozed polite manners and etiquette. "You're so beautiful, Haku." He whispered, resisting the urge to capture the boy's mouth with his own, when his cheeks colored.

"Thank you, Zabuza." He tilted his face a little, a thought crossing his mind. "Mm. . . Zabuza?" He asked, pursing his lips when the man raised an eyebrow as if telling him to go on. "Is this like. . . A date?"

The man cleared his throat, wishing his drink was there so he could use it to wet his mouth which had suddenly gone as dry as a desert. "I. . . I don't think so. If it were a date, I would be. . ." What? He wondered. What kept this from being a date? "I would have taken you somewhere really nice before we ate, and uh. . . We would be. . . Talking differently." He wasn't making sense, and he knew it.

Haku grinned a little knowingly, but didn't comment on the obvious idiocy. "Right. Well, maybe one day we'll go on actual date."

"Maybe." Zabuza said gruffly, glad that topic was clearly over. Before he could flounder for another topic of conversation, the waitress came with their drinks in tall, slim, frosty glasses. The bodyguard noticed with slight surprise she didn't look at Haku's immature and impolite way of sitting with anything but a smile. He figured people working in a place like this would be snobs.

Zabuza had glanced at the menu, and had been extremely dismayed to find the words were in. . . Some other language. "What can I get you to eat?" She asked, pulling out a small notepad. Haku nodded, and began speaking in a stream of words Zabuza couldn't understand, making his eyes narrow.

"Can you just give us a minute?" He said loudly, making Haku's voice stop abruptly, and the waitress's hazel eyes widen, her pen freezing on the paper. She looked at Haku helplessly, unsure of what to do. The boy tilted his head, nodding toward her, and she backed away quickly, planning to come back in a few minutes, unsure of what had made the man suddenly become so. . . Harsh.

Haku, however, was used to this, and wasn't bothered in the least by his slight ourburst. "What's the matter?" He asked softly.

"I don't know what any of this means." He scowled, pushing the glossy menu with the swirly, scrolly letters toward the boy, who gasped a little.

"Oh! I'm sorry, I didn't even think of you not being able to read French. . . Well. Do you mind if I order for you?" He asked.

"I don't care, but. . . I didn't know you were fluent in French." He managed. It was kind of. . . Sexy, in a way that nearly made the brown-haired man squirm with guilt. The words had sounded so sophisticated and mature, tumbling easy from the innocent beauty's mouth.

"Oh." Haku answered, eyes widening. "I'm not really _fluent_. I just know a few phrases and words, mostly food-related, actually. I couldn't really carry on a whole conversation." He paused for a moment, then added, "It was part of those classes I told you and Naruto and Sasuke about."

Zabuza grunted, quite bothered by the way the accent and voice had affected him. "Right. Yeah, order anything for me. I don't care." When the boy nodded, a small smile on his lips, the man frowned. "Not snails or anything weird." He clarified. He glanced over, away from Haku's line of vision, glaring at two men who sat at a table. His eyes had been quick enough to see both of them staring at he and Haku, but they had subtly looked away when he had turned toward them. Weird.

"Of course!" Haku laughed. He glanced over, his eyes urging the waitress to return. He was starving. When she did so, he ordered, and she left again, in a bit of a hurry. Haku wondered if she felt uncomfortable with Zabuza's intense way of speaking. He liked it.

"So what'd you get?" He wondered, despite himself. He didn't like looking ignorant in the boy's eyes, but it was painfully obvious he was clueless to the ways Haku had been raised.

"This special kind of pasta. It's really tasty. You'll like it." Haku said, then paused a moment. "I really only know a few things in French. I wish I knew more. Maybe I should take some language courses." He said thoughtfully, absently biting his lower lip.

". . . If you want." Zabuza said quietly. He shifted under the table. "Are you happy, Haku?"

"Hm?" The sudden question nudged him out of his thoughts, making him raise his brows a little in concern. "Sure, of course. Why wouldn't I be?"

"I just wanted to know." He said dismissively. Haku frowned a little, looking very much to Zabuza like a puppy who had been kicked too many times.

". . . Are you?" The boy asked softly, not sure of whether he wanted the answer. He thought the man was, but. . . He could never really be sure, could he?

"Very much so." He answered lowly. Haku slid out of his chair gracefully, smiling serenely.

"I have to go to the restroom, excuse me." He said, scurrying off toward the back of the restaurant. Zabuza frowned a little, but tried not to. He didn't like the idea of Haku going anywhere by himself in the public diner, but. . . He _was_ nearly an adult. He didn't want the boy to feel crowded or anything. . . But it was his job. His eyes narrowed, glaring at the door Haku had disappeared behind.

His eyes whipped to the side as he saw two large men walking from the opposite side of the restaurant - the same men that had been staring at them. He sat up instantly, body tensing, eyes zoning in on them. They headed into the bathroom after Haku, the door swinging behind them.

Before it had even finished moving, Zabuza had bolted out of his seat and towards it. He paused as soon as he got through the door, looking around. What the hell? It wasn't even a bathroom, it was just a tiny room with just a mirror and a door on the other side. A waiting room for the bathroom, he supposed. Kind of pointless, but whatever. He knew rich people got off on pointless, unneeded things. He crossed the room quickly, his hand reaching for the knob, and paused.

He didn't know how the boy would feel about him checking up on him, and he'd rather avoid doing it altogether as long as he wasn't in any danger. Perhaps it was a coincidence that the men had to go to the restroom at the same time as Haku? He frowned slowly, letting his mouth open slightly in a scowl, baring his teeth. That was bullshit.

* * *

Haku sighed, leaning a narrow hip against the marble sink, eyeing himself in the mirror. He folded his arms over his chest and poked his lips out a bit, before sucking them back in again to avoid looking pouty. Well, maybe he was pouty, but he didn't know why. He should be happy. Zabuza was happy. They were happy together. Right? He flipped his scarf a little, letting it flitter over his stomach a bit, not sure of what to do. Where did this incomplete feeling come from? He had everything he wanted, didn't he? Zabuza liked him. _Really_ liked him. Loved him. He blushed at the thought, and stood up straight again, glaring at the ceiling.

He heard the door open, but didn't bother looking behind him to observe who had walked in. It wasn't important. He resisted sighing again, and yanked a paper towel out of the large, plastic container perched on the wall, scrubbing his hands of the miniscule droplets of water that remained after he had washed them. He was being an idiot. Just because Zabuza wouldn't sleep with him- He paused in his actions, eyes widening. Was that really it? Was he really that hurt by the fact that the man wouldn't have sex with him? What kind of boy was he, anyway? Some kind of ruthless slut?

"Oi, Hoshigaki, right?" Haku turned, rudely yanked from his conflicted thoughts, to face a man who was at least as tall as Zabuza, maybe taller. As a result, the boy's own face was at about collarbone level. It never occured to him to feel intimidated.

"Yes?" He asked quietly. It only surprised him a little. He had been recognized in public before a few times. He knew his father was somewhat famous, not in the way an actor or a musician was, but he had been involved in some political campaigns and things of that nature. He was friends (and enemies) with several very important political headfigures, and often went to banquets and press release meetings and whatnot. Haku was also aware he was in charge of certain commitees and orders.

"Hey, no kidding?" There was a second man apparently, as he stepped in behind Haku, his shadow looming over the boy.

"Yes, really." Haku answered, somewhat annoyed. He wanted to be back sitting with Zabuza, not signing autographs or answering questions about his dad to these two strange characters.

"You know. . . " The first man began, with a mock thoughtful look on his fat face. Haku instantly despised him. He had a condescending voice. "I do believe this one here is the _youngest_ Hoshigaki kid."

"The baby?" The second man chuckled. Haku's breath caught in his throat as he felt one of them, he wasn't sure which one, lay a beefy hand on his shoulder.

"E-Excuse me." He said firmly. "I'd really like to go back and finish my food, if you don't mind." The tough act might have worked, if his soft voice hadn't broken on the first syllable.

"Yeah, well, we got a few things to talk to you about." One of them said, and proceeded to grip the boy's shoulders tightly, lifting him off the ground slightly and placing him in the corner of the room, so the both of them were blocking any way for him to escape.

"Yeah, just a few little things to discuss." The other man said, the one with the rude voice. "You don't mind, do you?"

Haku didn't know what to say. Panic was a tickle in his throat, like a low burn. He wondered exactly how much danger he was in. "What do you want?" He asked, jerking up a shoulder in what he thought looked like an unconcerned move.

"Well, we were just wondering how much you might be worth?"

"Worth?" The word came out in genuine shock, and puzzlement.

"Yeah. How much might your daddy pay for his baby boy?" One of them clarified, eyes gleaming, mouth in a sadistic snarl. "I know he's got plenty of cash to spare." His hand shot up and held Haku's arm in a vise-like grip, yanking it to pull the boy closer to him, as he pulled out a syringe with the other hand. The fluorescent lighting that had seemed low and full of calming ambience were suddenly bright, too bright, as a beam of light relfected off the metallic tip of the needle, glinting evilly.

Haku's eyes widened, as the man's thumb pressed the tiniest amount of pressure to the opposite end, a clear liquid squirting out for just a second. Panic went from a tickle in his throat to a gush of hot, horrible fear that gripped his whole body as if he had just fallen into a vat of boiling water. His mouth trembled open as he tried to form words, and felt sweat prickle his skin. Everything happened so quickly, his mind couldn't register anything, his body just acted on instinct.

He gasped out loud, his breath choking him, as he heard a loud bang, followed by another, even louder bang. He screamed, falling to his knees, the hard tile floor of the bathroom slamming his kneecaps with enough force to make them feel as though the bones were busted. The boy reverted into a somewhat fetal position, his forehead brushing the freezing tile, his hands clamping over his ears like a child throwing a temper tantrum, as he shrieked and shrieked, his loud screams filling every corner of the room.

He tensed, his voice no longer able to come out as an immeasurable amount of fear stuck in his throat, when he felt hands grab him and pull him up off the floor. He had heard gunshots. Had he been shot? Had the two men shot him? Was he going to die?

"Did they stick you?" He heard a voice snarl against his ear as he was yanked up again. He found himself bundled up against a hard chest, and the pain and fear instantly poured from him, leaving his body limp and exhausted and unable to move or flex. Zabuza's voice, Zabuza's chest.

"N-no." He said finally, when he remembered to speak. "They didn't do anything to me." He turned his head, instinctively flipping his hair out of his face, and peering down onto the floor.

One of the men, the one who had not been holding the syringe, was pressed back against the wall, in a half-way sitting position, his eyes huge and cowering. He was trembling, unable to speak. Haku's vision flicked over to Zabuza's arm for just a moment, seeing that he held the gun up in the direction of the man, his fingers locked perfectly into place. Ready to fire and take a life in a milisecond. His eyes moved back in the direction they had come from to rest on the other person on the ground.

Well, he _had been _a person, what he was now could not be described as such. People had eyes, and a nose and a mouth. A face. He no longer had any of those things. His skull and the meat in his face were on display like a painting in a museum. Haku could faintly make out a jawline, but nothing else resembled what it had been less than a minute ago. He turned his head again, unable to stare at the corpse any longer.

"Are you sure they didn't prick you with the needle?" He asked again, his voice firm but slow, the words sinking into Haku's ears like wax.

"No." He repeated. "You shot him before he could do anything." Shot. What a clean, respectable word for what Zabuza had done to the man. Killed, even murdered, seemed too tame for what he looked like now. Any of the gorey, edgy horror movies he had seen on his television couldn't touch what was a few feet from them. His head was light and he wanted to throw up. A horrifying thought occured to him, and before his mind could advise him not to follow through on it, he looked down, his eyes resting on his own body. Blood, as bright red as the fat fruits that Bindi often cut up for him, with a white whipped sauce to dip them in, speckled across his clean clothes in a mocking sort of polka dot pattern.

He had less than 3 seconds of feeling unmercifully sick before darkness slid over him, blacking out his vision and consciousness. In the last miliseconds, he could hear the bathroom door fly open again, slamming against the opposite wall, and a woman screaming. He was grateful to pass out.

* * *

The harsh reality of the world, when it came back to him, came unwelcomed and uninvited. When his eyelashes fluttered, and his mind immediately began to register what had happened, he wanted to go back. Back into the cool darkness where nothing mattered and he had nothing to explain, nothing to tell, nothing to feel. When he heard what was unmistakably his mother's voice, sobbing, his desire to go back tripled. He didn't dare move a muscle, lest he be discovered awake.

He heard his father's voice, and Zabuza's, they were talking. His bodyguard must be explaining what had happened. He was glad Zabuza knew how to explain, because he surely did not. He had only the vaguest idea of what had gone on. He knew the men had wanted to knock him out with whatever had been in the syringe. Kidnap him and hold him for ransom, he supposed. What a stupid and cliche thing to do to a politician's child. It was like something in a stupid movie. Didn't they know even if they had stuck him with the needle, and had him completely limp and at their mercy, how would they ever have gotten him out, and past his brown-haired escort?

He was laying on something soft, a bed. Resisting the urge to squint, he tried his hardest to listen to the soft words uttered by the three adults in the room with him. He could only make out bits and pieces.

"Grateful to you . . . Protecting him . . . Repay you." His father's voice was calm. He hardly sounded as if he were caught in the throes of grief like his pitiful, weeping mother, but Haku supposed that was normal. At least he was grateful to Zabuza for saving him? He could have been neutral about it, the boy guessed. "Oh, you saved him? Well, alright, I guess. Sorry to put you through the trouble, it was nothing to be concerned over." He imagined his father saying, and could barely repress a giggle.

And then he heard it, and a felt it. His mother's hand, cold as ice, nearly making him shiver out loud, pressed against his cheek and then his forehead. "Oh, my poor baby!" He heard her cry, then felt her chilly appendage leave him. He supposed her hand was an indication of her soul. _Don't be such an ungrateful brat, they're your parents. They made you, _a voice snapped at him in his head, and he instantly felt guilty. He supposed he could serve penance by showing everyone he was awake. Not like it mattered, he was in no danger of dying, anyway.

Zabuza had rescued him. Saved him like a knight in shining white armor. He mentally grinned at the image, knowing he was romanticizing the man far too much, but had no choice in the matter. He wished his parents would get the hell out so he could feel the man's big hands on him, checking him to make sure everything was okay, and so he could tell the man how much he meant to him. How grateful Haku was for everything. He wished there was something he could do to pay Zabuza back for everything, but knew there probably wasn't. He would ask later anyway, just to make sure.

He moaned a little, softly, like people did in the movies when they were waking up. He even went so far as to raise one hand and let the back of it rest on his forehead, to sate his mother's thirst for drama. When he felt her body practically crush his, followed by an unbearably loud cry, he figured he had done the right thing. Over his mother's shoulder, his big brown eyes connected with Zabuza's, and he smiled against the woman's dress sleeve.

* * *

** Ha, Zabuza's job has been cake up until this point, ne? Well there you go, he had to work a little. A LITTLE. And I know, I know. I make Haku a pitiful damsel in distress. I realize he's an incredibly skilled and tactile assassin who is responsible for as many deaths as Zabuza himself, but not in my story, alright!? Anyway, his job might keep getting tougher and tougher, you never know. After all, nobody even knows what ever happened to Orochimaru. Will he play a part in this story, later? You'll just have to wait and see! c: **

** Also, this chapter ran a little long in my opinion. I had planned on it being shorter, and then having a sort of cliff hanger pertaining to an event (and pairing) I want to include in the story very soon, but it was just getting too long so maybe I can do it next chapter? Leave me reviews, my infinitely loyal readers, they make me very happy. **


	16. How Does It Feel To Be Alone?

**I am SO apologetic for not updating my story for quite a little while. I got so busy with Christmas vacation, and then my laptop (which is where all of my text documents are) was acting dumb and not connecting to the internet correctly. But here's some good news - I have more chapters already waiting to post, so you'll get lots more soon ^^; I was hoping nobody thought I had lost interest in this story or anything! I am positively ECSTATIC about all of the reviews I've gotten for this one, it's really great. I'm glad everyone likes it and I have a lot more to do~**

* * *

Haku groaned a little, sinking down onto his soft mattress, finally, after what had seemed like forever in the police station. Answering question after question and retelling the scenario several times, he figured the police had the story. He had been worried at first, thinking the police didn't believe them, that Zabuza had simply shot a man for no reason. But after all of that, the two men had assured him all of the questions and interviews were standard procedure and he had nothing to worry about, nor did Zabuza.

Apparently, the two men had several serious crimes under their belt, had spent time in prison before, and even had a few current warrants out for their arrest. Haku supposed he would have to testify or something like that, against the man. . . The one still alive. He dreaded doing so, but knew it couldn't be helped. But still, he couldn't shake the re-occuring thought of how Zabuza's eyes had looked, as he had held the gun at arm's length, trigger finger tensed towards the cowering man. It also occured to Haku that either one of them could be dead right now, if the situation had gone just a little differently. He certainly might have been dead or at the very least kidnapped if Zabuza wasn't his constant escort.

Sighing, he buried his face in his pillow, and wondered if Kisame had been told yet what had happened. He knew Deidara had been at a party today, but he also knew the blonde was more than likely home. Had Zabuza or his parents told his two brothers what had happened, or would he have to tell them?

Like a sign from the fates, he heard a knock at his door. It somehow even _sounded_ hyperactive and impatient, though Haku wasn't quite sure how a knock could sound so. The person rapped on it again, speedily, and after another second of Haku's silence, pushed open the door.

"Haku, what's the matter?!" Deidara said angrily, standing at the door, his arms crossed angrily over his chest. "Why don't you answer me when I knock for you?"

"I'm just tired." He answered softly, immediately feeling a little guilty. Deidara had always had that ability. Haku was forcefully reminded of a time when they were young children, when Deidara and Haku had both wanted a lollipop, but there had only been one left in the jar their mother kept them in. Deidara had quite easily convinced the younger brunette that he himself _needed_ the candy, when he was sure Haku only _wanted_ it, and knew the younger would never have taken something that someone else _needed_.

"Well, I know, but. . . I wanted to talk, un!" He said, sitting on his brother's mattress with enough force to bounce both of the boys up.

"What about?" Haku asked, trying to disguise the weariness in his voice.

"What the Hell do you think?" Deidara asked, scoffing. He grabbed one of the pillows from near the headboard, lying on his stomach, and resting his chin on it, his eyes intently focused on his sibling.

". . . I probably don't even really know any more than you do." Haku admitted, leaning back against the frame at the head of his bed. "I haven't even gotten a chance to talk to Zabuza about it. The police seperated us before we had a chance. I guess they wanted to make sure we couldn't make up a story together or something."

"Wow. Well, he's here, you know, un. I just saw him as I was coming up the stairs."

"I know. Of course he is." Haku said quickly. "I heard Father talking to him. . ."

"What about?" Deidara asked, his eyes widening hugely.

". . . Thanking him, I guess." The brunette answered. "He was telling him he did a good job."

"Zabuza is a good bodyguard." Deidara agreed, then eyed his brother. "But then again, that might have something to do with. . . You know."

"Know what?"

"He cares about you a lot more than he would normally care for a client, I'm sure." He said pointedly, rolling his eyes. Then his sky blue eyes lit up, a mischevious grin flitting across his mouth. "Especially after today."

"Today?" Haku asked mock dumbly, but felt his cheeks get hot. Maybe Deidara was talking about something else entirely.

"Oh here, un, let me refresh your memory." The blonde snorted. "You and Zabuza naked and sweaty and-"

"No!" Haku cried, blushing furiously. "No, it wasn't. . . We didn't have _sex_." He whispered.

"You're lying through your teeth." Deidara said confidently. Plus, the crimson blush covering the younger boy's cheeks was a pretty good indication.

"I am not!" Haku growled. "We didn't have sex. He just. . . " He trailed off, embarrassed. He waited for Deidara to say something, but when the man just stared at him, one eyebrow raised, the brunette sighed. "He gave me head."

His embarrassment doubled when Deidara grinned toothily, leaning forward so their faces were close. "Details?"

"Absolutely not." Haku snapped, turning his head away. The older brother rolled his eyes and layed back down.

"Prude." He teased. "Well, if you won't tell me, at least tell me this. How good was it?"

Haku sighed, just wanting the particular conversation topic pertaining to his member in Zabuza's hot skilled mouth to end. "It was amazing." He said, hoping he didn't sound clichè.

Deidara paused, tilting his head a little. "You're really in love, huh, un?"

"He loves me, too." Haku said softly.

"I know." Deidara said, and felt a twinge of envy, but not jealousy. "It's sweet." He said quietly, but Haku was pretty adept at seeing the way the blonde's mood lowered a bit, even if it was just for a second.

". . . Did you see Sasori at your party?" Haku asked, and knew he had brought up the right thing when the sapphire eyes lit up, his smile returning.

"Yeah, he. . . He took care of me." He answered, and knew Haku would assume he meant in a sexual way. "I got sick. He held my hair." He clarified, and when his younger brother's eyes softened and he made a soft noise in his throat, he knew the brunette thought it as sweet and romantic as he had. "Then he gave me a cool washcloth and some water. And we talked."

"Wow. . ." Haku said thoughtfully. "I thought you said you thought he didn't even know you exist?"

"I guess I was wrong." He said simply. "I really like him, Haku." Deidara sighed.

"I can tell you do." The boy answered honestly. "What is he like, anyway?" Haku was genuinely curious as to what kind of guy could make someone like his brother go completely crazy, and act as though he had stars in his eyes.

"Sasori is. . ." Deidara paused a moment, thinking. "He's quiet, and serious." He glanced over at his younger brother. "I suppose he's a bit like Zabuza in that way, but sometimes Sasori seems kind of. . . Cold."

Haku didn't mention that he often thought of his bodyguard's personality in that way. Cold and uncaring. But as he got closer and closer to the brown-haired man, he could tell some of that was an act to protect himself.

"Some people even think he's mean and kind of. . . Sadistic, I suppose." The blonde shrugged. "I think most people don't really understand him. He's so smart, you know. . ."

"No, I don't know." Haku reminded him. "We haven't met. But he can't be so cruel and sadistic if he helped you when you were sick." He pointed out.

"That's true, but I guess you'd have to talk to him to understand, un. Even while he was taking care of me, I almost felt like he was trying to insult me or something."

"Really?" Haku frowned. "He doesn't sound very great, Deidara. . ."

"I know it seems that way, but I'm just not describing him right." The blonde sighed, frustrated. "And he's very. . . Confident. I feel like he's never even had a moment of indecision or worry. He doesn't care what people think of him, you know?"

"I suppose." The brunette said slowly, still unconvinced.

"Anyway, I know you're tired. We can talk about this tomorrow." Deidara said, hopping up off the bed. He gave the boy a sly grin before walking out the door, wiggling his fingers in a wave, closing it rather loudly behind him.

Haku stared at the door, frowning. He hated when Deidara acted so quickly that nobody had a chance to say or do anything to him. He layed back on the pillows, shaking his head. Well, at least he could go to sleep now. Flicking off the lamp beside his bed quickly, and yanking his comforter up to his neck, he exhaled slowly, trying to relax.

He wished he could talk to Zabuza, but he knew the man was probably busy right now. He wanted to hear that everything was going to be okay, in that deep, low voice that he loved so dearly. He wanted to hear the man tell him that he loved him. He wanted to feel Zabuza kiss him and hold him. Knowing it was doubtful he would feel neither of them tonight, he sighed, resigned to falling asleep alone.

He jumped a little as the knock on the door jerked him a little out of his thoughts. He had began to drift off to sleep, and the interruption made him annoyed. Especially since he could tell it wasn't Zabuza knocking.

"Young Master, the phone is for you." Parkins' voice informed him from the other side of the door. Haku frowned.

"Please come in, Parkins." He said, and watched his door open, the older gentleman strolling to him with the cordless phone.

"I apologize for disturbing your rest, Haku." The man said, after a quick glance at him. "But the caller informed me it is quite urgent."

"Thank you, it's alright." The brunette assured him, and the man bowed slightly, exiting the room quickly. When the door was latched closed, Haku gripped it to his ear. "Hello?"

"Haku!" The voice was so distinguishable, it could be nobody else.

"Naruto?" He asked oddly, wondering what on Earth could be the matter.

"You're alive!" The fox said happily through the receiver. Haku pulled the phone an inch away from his ear, as the boy's voice was loud enough to sting.

". . . Yes, I am." The brunette said softly. "What are you talking about?"

"Whaddya mean, what am I talking about?" The blonde scoffed. "Me and Sasuke know all about what happened to you today!"

". . . Do you?"

"Duh! We got connections, you know. Anyway, I heard Zabuza really gave it to him good, yeah? Like, he shot his freakin' head off and shit, right?" Haku's mind blanked a moment at the offending mental image, and heard the cool voice of the raven, stiff with annoyance, in the background of Naruto's end of the line. He then heard the blonde whine and some clattering and banging.  
"Haku?" It was Sasuke's voice this time, teeming with concern.

"Yes, Sasuke?"

"Sorry. He's an idiot." The boy said quickly. "Listen, I'm sure you're trying to rest, but I was worried when I heard what had happened. You are alright, aren't you?"

"I think so." He said honestly.

"Can we meet tomorrow? You can talk to me about it."

"Sure." Haku said, and made a mental note of the time and place Sasuke rattled off. ". . . Thanks, Sasuke."

"No problem. I'll let you go now. See you tomorrow."

"Right." He quickly added, "Don't be too hard on Naruto, okay?" He smiled when he heard the black-haired man scoff, and the phone click as he hung up. He set the phone beside his bed, hoping it wouldn't ring again tonight and wake him up. He was way too tired to take it out. Laying his head back down, he fell asleep almost instantly.

* * *

"What the Hell is wrong with you?" Sasuke snapped at his blonde boyfriend, after throwing the phone onto their couch, who gave him a weird look.

"What are you talking about?" Naruto asked in a slight whine. "I didn't do anything!"

"Are you serious?" Sasuke growled, eyes flashing. "You don't think 'Gee, Haku! Zabuza really fucked that guy up, didn't he? His blood and guts were sprayed all over the floor and walls!' is doing anything?"

". . . He did." The kyuubi said defensively. "You said. You said he shot him right in the face."

"Yes." Sasuke said slowly, gritting his teeth, trying desperately to reign in his temper. The blonde could be such a clueless idiot sometimes. "But don't you think Haku is a little bothered by the fact that he saw someone get killed today? He could be traumatized, Naruto. You have no idea what it's like to see someone murdered."

Naruto paused, feeling instantly guilty. He would never have done anything to hurt the soft-spoken teenager. He decided to apologize to Haku as soon as he saw him tomorrow. ". . . I'm sorry." He said quietly. "I didn't think. . ."

"No, you didn't think, did you?" The raven scowled. "You just don't understand, Naruto. Everything is rainbows and sunshine in your little world, huh?"

"I said I was sorry!" He said, frowning. "You're right, okay? I _don't_ understand. I haven't been through what you have, baby. . ." He said softly, and could visibly see the black-haired man's anger drip away. "Don't be mad at me." He said quietly, blue eyes bright with hurt.

"I'm not." Sasuke sighed. He felt Naruto's arms wrap around him, and allowed himself to be pulled into the blonde's lap. "It's just hard, okay? You never forget."

Naruto nodded, nuzzling his lover's hair. "I know, Sasuke. I know how hard it is for you. You must think about it all the time. . ."

"You help me forget." He whispered back. "I just miss them a lot, you know?"

"I know. I wish I could have known them." Naruto said. "I bet your mother would have loved me." He said confidently. Sasuke smiled a little, laughing softly in his throat.

"Probably." He agreed. "It's my dad you would have had to try hard to impress."

"Maybe." Naruto said, and lifted Sasuke's gorgeous face up to receive a sweet kiss. "I like to think that they know I'm taking good care of you."

"I hope that doesn't mean they know what a pervert you are." Sasuke said, not really liking the idea of his parents 'watching over him' constantly. "You mean what a pervert I've turned you into?"

"Only in your dreams." The raven retorted, and nearly hated himself for feeling his heart melt when Naruto gave him a cheeky grin.

"You don't even wanna know what goes on in my dreams! "

"Probably not." Sasuke replied. "You probably dream of nailing every pretty boy you meet."

Naruto gave him a strange look, one eyebrow cocked. "Are you serious?" He asked, and his eyes widened when his lover didn't answer. "I don't dream of anyone but you." He said. "Why would I want some other guy when nobody is as sexy as you?"

"Nobody could put up with you." Sasuke corrected him, but couldn't help feeling his heart tumble at the blonde's words. Was he really that desirable to his lover?

"Even so." Naruto said, and reminded Sasuke that he was sitting in his lap by moving his hands around the raven's ribcage and toying with his bellybutton, under his shirt. "I wouldn't want anyone else."

"I know." Sasuke said quietly. The knowledge made him deliriously happy, even through the black mood that had darkened him since the day before. ". . . I saw him yesterday. At the grocery store."

"Itachi?" Naruto asked, recognizing the tone. His hands instantly ceased stroking his boyfriend's waist. "What did he say?"

"Nothing." Sasuke replied, eyes narrowed. "He didn't see me. I didn't want him to."

"Sasuke. . ." Naruto said carefully, knowing talking about Itachi was dangerous ground.

"What!?" The raven snapped, anger flashing in his eyes. "I'm not talking to him. Not ever."

"I know." The blue-eyed man said quickly. "I don't expect you to."

"He ruined my life." Sasuke said darkly. "He let that bastard in our house. It's his fault."

"I know." Naruto said, hugging his lover tightly. He had been given a year or more practice of soothing Sasuke's radical anger impulses, due to his older brother. His personal opinion on whether or not Itachi was responsible for the murder of the Uchiha parents differed from Sasuke's opinion, but he was desperately in love with the raven, and comforting him was way higher on Naruto's list than arguing with him over something that could never be changed.

He also knew that Sasuke believed with every fiber of his being that Itachi was responsible for the pair of them so suddenly and devastatingly becoming orphans. In addition, Naruto had a friend who was a certified psychiatrist that had once told him that victims of extreme grief often had to find something or someone to blame, to keep from blaming themselves. The blonde wondered if Sasuke subconciously blamed his older brother just to keep from feeling any kind of guilt from the murder. In actuality, neither of them were directly responsible for what had happened, but he would never have tried to convince the raven of that.

"I love you." Sasuke said quietly.

"I love you more." Naruto said in the sing-song tone that he knew annoyed Sasuke, but didn't care. He kissed the raven's cheek and glanced up over their headboard, where Sasuke had framed the picture Haku had taken with his camera with a modern-looking black frame. "Don't worry about Haku, okay? I'll apologize tomorrow, I promise."

"I know. I just hope he's alright."

"Zabuza will take care of him." Naruto pointed out. "Come on, Sasuke. You can't worry over everything all the time." He said, grinning when his boyfriend's eyes lit with anger.

"I don't wor- Naruto!" He snapped angrily, when the blonde fell backwards onto the mattress, pulling him back along with. Sasuke dragged himself up on his elbows, glaring into big blue eyes. "I hate when you do that." He pretended not to notice his boyfriend blatantly checking out his body, as he was only wearing a pair of plain black boxers, and no t-shirt. He usually remembered to wear a shirt to bed. Damn it.

"It shuts you up." The fox said gleefully, his hands rising to rest on the boy's lower back. "Anyway, if you're feeling unhappy, I know how to make you feel better." He said, grinning lecherously. Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"Oh, are you going on a really long vacation?"

"Hey!" Naruto whined, and pinched the raven, making him hiss. "You'd miss me if I left!"

"Too much." Sasuke confessed, sighing, and letting his body fall back down on his boyfriend's. "You know that, idiot."

"I know." He said cockily, and let his palms glide down to squeeze the raven's ass. "You have such a great ass."

"Isn't that why you fell in love with me?" Sasuke asked flatly, refusing to arch into the blonde's hands. He willed himself to stay still and look bored as his often obnoxious lover stroked his skin sweetly.

"Not entirely." Naruto replied. "Cold?" He asked in mock sweetness, as the raven's nipples hardened. The blonde barely resisted the urge to latch his mouth onto one. He loved the way Sasuke tasted, like polished honey.

"It's a little chilly in here, yeah." The black-haired man growled, blushing at his body's all-too-obvious reaction to Naruto's ministrations. It had always been like that, hadn't it? No matter how much he could pretend the blonde didn't drive him wild, his body couldn't lie as easily. And both of them knew it.

"Oh?" Naruto asked, smiling. "Well, lemme warm you up."

Sasuke could only sigh as he was easily flipped onto the mattress, and his own mouth was covered by the kyuubi's heated lips.

* * *

Zabuza groaned a little in his throat, as his mind and body forced him out of the sweet escape of sleep. He sat up, damning whatever God had invented thirst. His throat felt as dry as dust. He had been having excellent rest.

Relunctantly standing beside the bed, he glanced around and let his eyes rest on the digital clock. The time was 1:36. Way too late to be out of bed, he decided. He was getting a drink and heading directly back to sleeping.

As he exited his room, he glanced over at Haku's door, knowing the boy was sleeping behind it. The want to quietly sneak in and crawl into bed with his pretty brunette very nearly overpowered the need to quench his thirst.

Mentally scowling at himself, he deliberately turned away from the door, facing the stairs. He supposed he could have simply gotten some water from his bathroom, but Bindi had made some sort of tea earlier that day. It had been sweeter and tastier than anything Zabuza had ever gotten, and he feared he was addicted after only one glass. And there was a whole pitcher of it in the refrigerator.

As he took his first step onto the tall stairway, he nearly jumped out of his skin as the peaceful silence of the house was shattered, as one of the doors behind him burst open. Instantly turning skillfully, his eyes locked with Haku's big brown ones, which were wide with shock and. . . Anger?

"Haku, what the Hell is- Augh! Shit!" The man snapped, as the boy burst past him, nearly knocking him over into the wall, and flew down the stairs, his beautiful hair flowing like rich mink behind him. He cursed, and followed as fast as he could, very close to falling as his large feet slapped the stairs with an immeasurable speed. As they neared the bottom, the man reached out to grab the boy's shirt, and stop him from speeding toward whatever the fuck he seemed so desperate to get to. He had never seen such a wild look in the boy's eyes before.

Gritting his teeth, he watched as his fingertips barely brushed the cloth of Haku's shirt. Not fast enough, he decided, as the boy stopped dead at the front door, and yanked it open, panting. "What is going on- Oh! Kisame!" Haku's soft voice cried out, punctuated by harsh breaths. Only seconds later as Zabuza finally caught up, he stood in the doorway, his jaw dropped slightly.

* * *

Aggravated as his sleep was disturbed, Haku frowned at his window. He wasn't normally such a light sleeper, but he was certain he had heard some sort of car and heard voices near the house. Not inside it, but coming from the outside of his home. He sat up, rubbing his eyes to clear them, and stalked over to his window, pushing back his curtain a little bit.

He couldn't help the gasp that escaped from him, his hand flying up to his mouth. He could feel his cheeks heat up, and would have stepped back immediately, and closed the curtain, if he hadn't thought he recognized the other man that wasn't his brother. He wasn't some kind of voyeur. But seeing his unmistakable oldest sibling wrapped in what looked like a rather heated embrace with someone that looked a lot like his friend was too much to ignore. His eyes narrowed as he squinted, trying hard to see exactly what was going on, but their porch lights weren't incredibly bright, and he was on the second floor.

". . . Sasuke?" He whispered under his breath, his eyes widening impossibly. There was no way, it couldn't be! Sasuke would _never_ cheat on Naruto. . . They loved each other! The picture he had taken of their two names in pretty paint flashed in his mind, making his blood simmer with rage. He was positive the blonde had no idea that his boyfriend was cheating on him.

Well, he could certainly find out now, Haku decided, snarling. That fucking slut. How dare he mess around the blonde man's emotions like that! What kind of heartless jerk was he, anyway? And to think his own brother was a part in this. . . Adultery!? Making up his mind quickly, he felt he had no other option. He was certain he would tell Naruto the truth about Sasuke, but only after he confronted the cheating whore himself right now!

Pushing away from the window, he yanked open his door and flew out of it. He was a little surprised to see Zabuza at the top of the stairs, but knew he couldn't wait and talk to the man. He couldn't let Sasuke get away! He used his full body weight to shove past the much larger and heavier man and race down the stairs. He was surprised it had worked, but knew it was probably only because he had the element of surprise on his side. He would apologize to the brown-haired man later.

He heard his bodyguard curse behind him, and the sound of him following him quickly down the stairway. No time for that, his mind screamed at him. He had to get to Kisame and Sasuke now. After what seemed like hours, he finally reached the front door and practically pulled it off the hinges in his haste, snarling.

* * *

** Again, this chapter was running too long. I eventually had to just cut a few paragraphs off and start the next chapter with them, haha. Anyway, I guess this is kind of a cliffhanger :3 Good job, me. **

** Although I'm pretty sure most of you have already figured it out - I would be totally surprised if someone was totally surprised xD **


	17. Patience

**I know this is kind of weird since it keeps showing the same time frame but from different points of view, but just deal with it! I'm introducing a new plot point! Everyone loves Itachi, right? **

** . . . Well except Sasuke, obv. But we'll cross that bridge when we get there. **

* * *

Kisame watched his lover's feet carefully, although he knew Itachi had walked these steps many times before, and his body had memorized the amount of space between each step. He still worried, that was his right as the person who cared about the weasel most. No matter how much the black-haired man protested, he would always worry about his lack of sight. He gripped the Uchiha's arm carefully as they walked up and stopped on the front porch.

"Spend the night with me tonight." The smooth voice of his lover penetrated his ears, and made him wish for something he had wished for every day of every week since he had met Itachi. Even after being with the man for more years than he had fingers on one hand, he was completely enthralled by Itachi's ability to be completely competent and skilled in pretty much. . . Everything. And being mouthwateringly attractive was included in his incredibly wide range of skills.

"Not tonight, Ita. Haku was in an accident today. Dad told me he's fine, but I really think I should stay and make sure he's alright for myself in the morning."

Itachi knew he could win an argument with the man any day of the week, but loved him too much to press the issue. Not so much as a year ago, he would have, just to have Kisame all to himself, even for one night, but now he knew what had to be done. He had always known, he supposed. Although he was the only one the shark was in love with, he would always be put second, to the youngest Hoshigaki brother, Haku, whom he had never even met before.

He had given up on the dream he once had, of living with his beloved. Of sharing a home with Kisame, sharing a bedroom with him. Deciding together how to decorate this house. Whether they should have pets. Adopt children.

Itachi had never considered himself a dreamer, nor overly romantic, but once you were with someone as long as he and the shark had been together, there were certain things you came to expect. He tried not to be assaulted by one of the only memories he had of himself crying, even counting his parent's deaths, begging Kisame to just move in with him, his brothers could take care of themselves, he wasn't a parent, it wasn't his responsibility to watch after them. Kisame had refused, like always. He always said they needed him.

Since then, Itachi had ignored that part of himself. The part to need Kisa with him all the time. He could deal with it, he had dealt with it for what seemed like forever. It had been easier than he expected, and he rarely, if ever, felt the painful squeeze in his chest as he used to, when he would watch Kisame leave, or have to leave him.

"Right. I know that. Stay with him." Itachi answered cooly. Most people would have resented the youngest brother, but the weasel knew it wasn't the boy's fault. He knew for certain that none of Kisa's family knew about him at all. They had always kept their relationship a complete secret. Which he supposed was for the best, when he really thought about it. At least for now. Although he often tried to convince himself he had given up the dream he once had of permanently living with his shark, a miniscule, burning part of him believed that perhaps when the boy turned 18, Kisame would finally leave the Hoshigaki manor.

"I _want_ to go with you. You know that."

"Yes, I'm aware." Itachi said. He believed Kisa really did want to go with him, he always believed that. He knew how much the man loved him, had always loved him. "You could catch a cab early tomorrow back, before anyone is up."

The idea seemed to tempt the shark, his eyebrows raising up in thought, above his seemingly undersized eyes. Itachi could remember with perfect clarity every aspect of Kisame's physical attributes, even though it had been nearly 2 years since seeing them. "That. . . Is why you're the smarter of the two of us." Kisame said softly, grinning.

"You tell me often enough." He said briskly. Kisame had always admired Itachi's no-nonsense attitude.

"You can never just let me compliment you." He said, putting his arms around the weasel's waist, pulling their lower bodies together.

"Kisa." Itachi began warningly. "I grow weary of cheap flattery." It was true, for as long as he could remember, even before Kisame, people had always sucked up to him, telling him how great he was.

"Oho, but this flattery isn't cheap." The man countered. He wasn't concerned about his lover's moodiness, or his disdain for being complimented. He would continue to do so, and Ita would continue to hate it. It was just the way it was. But he also was no idiot - He knew that Itachi knew the difference in a stranger's generic compliment and a compliment from someone in love with you.

"Whatever you say. Are you coming or not?" The black-haired man asked, attempting to pull away. Kisame held tight, and brought one of his hands up to cup the beautiful Uchiha's chin, making their faces level.

"Tell me what we're going to do when we get to your house."

"I assume you're not asking me to explain the science of sleep."

"Not exactly." The shark said pleasantly, and jerked the smaller man's face a tiny bit. He knew Ita couldn't see how close their faces were, but he remembered what the black-haired man had once told him, soon after the complete loss of his eyesight: When he couldn't see, his other senses were magnified to a strength they had never been before. Kisame knew he could hear, smell, taste everything to a more powerful degree, and he could sense the presence of someone, like if someone entered a room he was in. "I was thinking more along the lines of you talking dirty to me."

"I suppose that wouldn't be an appropriate subject to dwell on while in the back of the cab."

Kisame glanced back at the yellow taxi in the street, the exhaust pipe chugging hot clouds into the cold night air, the driver looking bored, flipping through some sort of magazine. He knew the driver had no problem waiting, since he himself had passed the bearded man a crisp bill with a number in the triple digits on it. "I think that guy would pretty much let you suck my dick in the back of the cab, Itachi." He said, and watched the weasel's pink tongue flit out to wet his bottom lip before disappearing back into his mouth.

"Well I certainly can't talk dirty to you in that case."

"Hm?"

"It's so impolite to talk with your mouth full." He said shortly, and felt Kisame's chest rumble against him as he laughed, and heard his rough voice chuckling. "What's with the sudden, er. . . Friskiness, anyway?"

"It's been awhile." The shark reminded him lowly, nipping at the lower lip of his lover, carefully. He would hate to break the skin of those lovely lips with his overly sharp teeth. Although it had happened before a few times, on complete accident, Kisa tried his best to prevent it from happening.

_And who's fault is that?_ Itachi thought bitterly, but didn't speak it out loud. "I was beginning to wonder if you had lost interest in me." He said, but both of them knew it was sarcasm. Kisame contemplated telling him about the time he had spent the night before, sweating and turning in his bed, his cock pulsing against his stomach, with achingly lucid images of Itachi's body and face in his brain, and decided to opt for it.

"You might not think so if you had been with me last night. I would have killed a hundred guys just to have you in my bed."

"You could have called. You know you only need to ask." He retorted dryly.

"I know." Kisa sighed. "But. . . It was late, and. . . I know you were trying to sleep."

"I would sleep better beside you." He said before he could stop himself. He felt the man tense a little, guiltily, and wished he hadn't spoken at all. "Don't." He said quickly. "Just. . . Come make up for it tonight."

"Make up for it?" Kisame asked, stroking his calloused thumbs over Itachi's smooth cheekbones. When they had first gotten together, so long ago, he remembered being so nervous about everything. Worried he would wreck what amazing miracle had happened and made such an amazing person be interested in him. It had all seemed so surreal and strange, someone who everyone seemed to envy or want, wanted _him_. Even though they had decided to keep their relationship a secret, it had always been difficult for him to keep from telling people that the beautiful Uchiha was his.

"Mm." The weasel made a noise of consent in his throat, and felt his lover's lips close over his, his strong, big hands tightening on his face. Using his uniquely shaped teeth to forcefully open the gorgeous man's mouth, the shark kissed him hard and deeply, neither of them aware of the angry eyes glued to them from above.

"Oh man, Ita. I can't wait any longer. I want you."

"Well, you'll have to wait about 10 minutes, you know." He answered, referring to the amount of distance to his home, the home he lived in with his best friend - A blind person couldn't live alone. But he was immensely satisfied about Kisame's urgency. He was rather heated himself. . . It _had_ been awhile since he and the man had stolen some time to themselves. He knew Kisa was watching Haku's current bodyguard carefully, and didn't like to leave a lot.

"That's my limit." The shark chuckled, kissing him quickly again. He felt Itachi gasp against his mouth (Which was a rare occurence in itself), as they both heard a loud banging noise and felt the air from the front door bursting open behind them. Kisame turned quickly, his eyes widening and his mouth turning to a scowl as he saw who stood at the door.

"What is going on- Oh! Kisame!" Haku stepped back immediately, all of his anger and rage draining away to leave his body panting and his cheeks flaming. "I-" He stopped, his fists clenching. Not Sasuke. This man was taller than Sasuke, his features slightly different in their elegant and aristocratic ways. But before Haku could utter another word, he felt the bizarre sensation of feeling as though he were looking at some sort of time warp, an older version of his black-haired friend.

He felt Zabuza reach him, but didn't turn and say a word. He couldn't. Kisame was glaring at him with complete rage and fury, something Haku had never seen on the friendly man's face before. "I'm sorry!" Haku gasped. "I thought you were kissing. . . Someone." He finished weakly. What was he supposed to say? Out of 7 billion people on the planet, I assumed the person you were making out with was my friend?

"I _was_ kissing someone." The shark snapped. "I'm 29 years old, Haku, I assumed I was allowed to do that without you feeling the need to confront me."

"I wasn't confronting you! I'm so sorry, Kisame!" He said miserably, and wanted nothing more than to close the door and fall back into bed and pretend none of this ever happened.

Zabuza raised an eyebrow, glancing between the oldest Hoshigaki brother, and the man he was with. Neither of them had moved, except pulling their faces apart, where he was certain theirs mouths had been fused together. Kisa's hands relunctantly peeled away from Itachi's hips, belatedly. Haku couldn't help but finally glance up into the face of the man across from his older brother, and really look. His skin was nearly luminous in it's tone, his features perfectly blended together to make the face of someone who looked like a model. He could have been one, Haku realized in slight awe. His hair was edgy and choppy like Sasuke's, and certainly as dark, though a little longer in Haku's opinion. The simple black jeans and black turtleneck were wrapped around a slim body that was long, much taller than Haku himself. But it was his eyes that made Haku tilt his head slightly in surprise. They were the strangest color, like a rich, expensive wine, such a deep burgandy. And they seemed to stare right through something, not look directly at it. Haku watched in horrified anticipation as the man inhaled.

"I have to be going, Kisame. I'll call you tomorrow." He said, and took a step toward their steps. Zabuza could clearly see the man was feeling some sort of incredibly strong emotion and trying hard not to show it.

"Ita. . ." Kisame looked sad. "I love you." He said. Itachi didn't turn, but stepped quickly.

"I love you, too." He said, and then huffed out a breath as his agitated, speedy footsteps got ahead of him, and he tripped. Zabuza's trained eyes could see even as the attractive man began to fall and wondered if he should lunge forward to catch him. His decision was made for him when Kisame, nearly automatically as if he was used to this sort of thing, snapped his arm up to catch him. When the weasel had steadied himself, he made an angry noise in his throat.

"Ah! Are you alright?" Haku cried out, before he could stop himself. It was obvious the man did not want to talk to him or see him, but he couldn't help his instinctive outburst. He noticed the man didn't turn to look at him, as he hadn't with Kisame, but he spoke.

"I'm fine. I misjudged the distance." Were his only words as he made the rest of the way perfectly, and slammed the door of the taxi cab. It sped away, and the shark slowly turned to face the pair standing in the doorway. It only occured to Haku right then that the man had been blind. Completely and totally without sight. The thought frightened him a little bit, but he was amazed that someone could be so graceful as to pull it off like that. Well, besides the fact that he had nearly fallen, but he assumed that was probably a somewhat rare occurence.

"I'm going to bed." He growled at Haku, who bit his lower lip apologetically.

"I'm sorry, Kisame!" He said again. Zabuza backed up a few inches to let the eldest brother through. He didn't want to get involved in family drama. "Please don't be angry. . . I didn't know you. . . Loved someone." The last two words were said in an nearly inaudible whisper. Zabuza could see the words physically affect Kisame, as he stopped dead in his tracks, his back still facing them.

"Now you know." He said.

"How long have you?" Haku asked, and Kisame turned, his eyes oddly blank, as if concealing something.

"Years." He finally said, relunctantly. The gears in Zabuza's mind worked instantly, he himself figuring the entire scenario out far before Haku could. The reason why Itachi had been so oddly cold to the youngest Hoshigaki, all the times Kisa had been 'out' but with nobody knowing where he was going, and the fact that the man still lived at home.

"He said he loves you back." Haku whispered tilting his head slightly. He frowned. "Why don't you-"

"You should go to bed, Haku." Zabuza interjected pointedly, glancing at the shark, whose odd, beady eyes had distinct gratitude in them. "You went through a lot today. Rest is good for you."

"Yes." Haku said absently, waving a hand toward the bodyguard, his eyes still focused intently on his older brother. "Why don't you live with him? If you've been together for years? It doesn't make sens-"

"Your mother and father would want me to put you to bed." The brown-haired man said again, through gritted teeth.

"Answer me, Kisa." Haku said again, his voice seeming very small and childish. Zabuza mentally groaned, knowing exactly what was coming.

"I couldn't leave you here on your own." The man said, his tone somewhat distant. "You needed taking care of."

The words echoed in Haku's head while he stood, feeling as though his blood had turned to ice in his veins and his heart had stopped in mid-beat. He couldn't speak for a moment, but he felt his mouth tremble open. "I don't understand." He said slowly, though he really did.

"It's nothing Haku, just go to sleep like Zabuza said." Kisame commanded, turning toward the stairs. He began to walk up them, and growled when he felt Haku's hand grab onto his wrist from behind.

"Kisame, why won't you talk to me? I'm just asking one question." He said, his breath shuddering out slightly.

"It's not your fault, alright? I made my own choice and I don't have to explain it to you."

"You and Itachi don't live together because of me." He said softly, looking down toward the floor. "You've been with him for years and you never-"

"Just drop it." The shark snapped. "I'm not talking about this anymore."

"He must hate me." Haku concluded quietly. Zabuza chanced a glance at the teenager's face and immediately regretted it. His cocoa eyes were shimmering with anger and hurt and tears. Kisame didn't answer him. The older man stormed up the stairs and the pair downstairs heard his bedroom door slam closed.

"Haku, don't cry." Zabuza said, clearing his throat. The boy didn't answer him, just gazed up the stairs which his oldest brother had retreated up. One fat droplet spread on his lower lashes then trickled down his cheek, dripping down his face and turning into a dark spot on his loose-fitting t-shirt.

"It doesn't matter." The teenager said quickly, gripping the handrail so he could fling himself up the stairs quickly and run up them. It barely registered in the man's mind that even as Haku ran, his footsteps were basically silent. It was in his nature to be quiet and out of the way. He hurriedly followed him up the stairs and by the time Haku got to his own bedroom door, Zabuza was just inches behind him.

"Zabuza, I-" He was hushed by the man's hands resting on his shoulders, squeezing reassuredly. Zabuza wasn't the sweet, comforting type, but he seemed inclined to be so with the pretty boy.

"Come on." The man said under his breath, pushing Haku the last few feet into his doorway and closing it behind them. He sincerely hoped he had closed his own bedroom door so nobody would suspect that he wasn't sound asleep in bed if they happened to walk down the hallway. Hiding he and Haku's relationship was getting slightly more difficult than he had anticipated, but now wasn't the time to think about that.

"I can't believe he hid that from everyone for so long." Haku whimpered, as Zabuza pushed him into a sitting position on his mattress. He brought his knees up to his chest, hiding his face in them. The man frowned, noting that particular position seemed to comfort the boy, but he had no idea why.

"It's his business." He reminded the boy.

"But. . . He said he loves him!" He cried. "They love each other, and they can't be together all the time because of me."

"You didn't make the decision, Kisame did."

"But why does he think I need taking care of?" Haku sobbed into his knees, hating the fact that he was crying. It was such an immature thing to do, and he knew Zabuza must have felt so uncomfortable. But he couldn't help it.

". . . You don't think you need taking care of?" Zabuza asked slowly. He carefully sat in a chair on the opposite wall from the bed. If someone did happen to walk in, he certainly didn't want them finding the two of them in bed together, no matter how platonic it would seem, with Haku crying hysterically.

"That's what you're here for." He snapped angrily, in a muffled voice.

"I haven't always been here." The man answered. "You'd do well to remember that."

Haku raised his face slowly, biting his lower lip. "What are you trying to say?" He asked in a very small voice.

"Nothing." Zabuza answered quickly. "I just mean that I only became your bodyguard recently."

"Kisame doesn't trust you. . . " Haku realized, his eyes widening. He sat up, leaning back against his headboard. Zabuza frowned, wondering how the Hell this had _just_ dawned on the teenager.

"That is obvious." He answered, and watched bright, brown eyes trail back over to him.

"Why not?" The boy asked, crossing his arms over his chest, eyes narrowed.

"I don't know." The escort said sarcastically.

"This is ridiculous. You're. . . You're. . . " He trailed off, and sighed.

"He has no reason to trust me."

"What are you talking about!?" Haku asked, pushing off his mattress and standing beside it. "You're amazing." He said, deciding the word was most like what he had been searching his mind for. He made slow, deliberate steps toward the chair, making Zabuza inch back slowly, dull gray eyes widened slightly. "You really are." He whispered.

"Well, that's a matter of opinio- Haku." He said quickly, when the boy purposefully draped his arms around the man's neck and shoulders, his own flexible legs comfortably resting on either side of Zabuza's muscled ones. This seemed to be a favorite position of his, Zabuza thought, gritting his teeth. And it was all too dangerous, too tempting. Too indicative of what was between them, and what could be _between_ them. Which was, of course, nothing.

"Zabuza." He retorted. He was still crying a little. "I have to fix this."

". . . This?" Damn his brain cells malfunctioning always, when the boy was so close to him.

"Kisame and. . . "

"Ita." Zabuza supplied helpfully, remembering what Kisame had said, his eyes struggling not to roll downward to gaze on the teenager's lithe body.

"Yes." Haku said thoughtfully. "Ita." He looked spacey for a moment, but recovered. "Zabuza?" He asked.

"Hm?" The man grunted.

"Why do you say Kisa shouldn't trust you?"

"You're straddling me. You're always doing that."

"Is that all?" Haku asked, smiling a little. It seemed his tears were drying. "I love you."

"I love you." The man repeated. "How do you plan to fix this?"

"I'm not sure. Maybe Sasuke can help. He's so smart about relationships." Haku said softly, then grinned a little more. "Just wait until I tell him that I thought my brother was kissing him. It was so strange, wasn't it? How much that guy looked like him?"

"It was a little bizarre." Zabuza agreed. He heaved a sigh, and gently set Haku on his feet. "You should get some sleep."

* * *

Deidara rolled his blue eyes toward the heavens, having heard some of what had gone on downstairs. He still hadn't gone to bed, he was so jittery and hyper. So Kisame had a lover, big deal. He was old. What was Haku's problem, anyway? He couldn't stop thinking about Sasori.

He was so different from anyone the blonde had ever come in contact with. He was _not_ a creeper, Deidara thought bitterly, scowling at his cluttered desk. Why did people think that, anyway? Well, okay, he was a little weird sometimes, but Dei fully believed that the red-haired man was just misunderstood. Of course regular people didn't _get _him. He was, like. . . One of those deep, brooding, moody artists. A rebel.

Deidara couldn't help but find such a dark personality irresistably alluring. He glanced at the clock and sighed. He should really get into bed. It was way too late to be up, but it was so hard for him to care. He wanted Sasori to come to his window or something like in a movie and throw a pebble against it so the blonde would know he was there.

He would open the window and pretend to be shocked. _"Oh Sasori! What are __**you**__ doing here!?"_

_ "I just had to come see you, baby. I can't stay away from you." _He would say it in that wonderful voice, with his eyes all intense and his mouth in that arrogant little smirk. He would hold out his hand and gesture for Deidara to come outside to him.

_"But I can't come out there!" _

_ "Come on, live a little. You don't always follow the rules." _

_ "But how am I supposed to get down there to you without everyone knowing? I can't just walk out the front door!" _He would rationalize, though he wanted desperately to be out there with Sasori, instead of trapped in his home.

_"Just jump down to me. I'll catch you." _He would say. Deidara would pretend to think this was a bad idea.

_"I can't do that, I'm on the second floor!" _

_ "Don't you trust me?" _The auburn-haired man would ask, and brace himself, standing right under the blonde's window, ready to catch him.

Deidara grinned at his fantasy, trying to resist rolling his eyes. Okay, so Sasori would probably not call him 'baby', and he probably wouldn't stand under a window to catch him so they could roll around together passionately in the manicured grass in frontof his house. He sighed, shaking his head as he absently unbuttoned his tight jeans. He at least needed to try going to sleep. As he peeled them down his legs, he noticed a tiny white slip of paper flutter from his waistbanddown to his carpet. He pulled the clothing the rest of the way off and reached down, picking the mysterious paper up, examining it closely.

'**7378935 - Sasori**' was the only thing written in small, neat letters on the very small scrap. Deidara's eyes widened, and he pressed the little piece of paper to his lips. He pulled it away quickly, running his eyes over it again. How did it get there? The man must have stuck it in without him noticing.

"He really likes me." Deidara whispered excitedly. His tongue ran over his lips fervently as he realized the number wasn't a local area number, it had to be for a cellphone. He yanked his own slim, expensive phone off his nightstand and punched in the numbers, after selecting "Send a new text message" from his menu.

_You're sneaky._ Was all he typed in before sending it, feeling nervous. He flopped down on his bed, wiggling in pure nerves and excitement, and wondered what Sasori would think about him wiggling and squealing on his bed in his underwear. He'd probably call him a retard. He nearly jumped when he heard the tiny beep meaning he had a new message, from his cellular.

_You don't approve? _Deidara snorted. Approve? God, he felt like he could run a marathon. He couldn't believe he actually had Sasori Akasuna's cellphone number. And everyone had told him that Sasori was impossible to get close to. It was like he had a wall up to protect himself from the rest of the world. They had been wrong, Deidara realized happily. So totally, completely wrong.

_I guess this means I can talk to you whenever I want._ Deidara sent back. He glared at his phone, as if willing Sasori to send him something back, quickly. He supposed this way was better than nothing, though he would have loved to hear the man's voice most of all. It had only been a few hours but already he felt like Sasori's wonderfully low voice was like a drug he needed every few hours.

_How about face-to-face tomorrow at 1:00? Do you eat? _Sasori was asking him on a date. A real date. Like people in real relationships went on. Oh god oh god oh god.

_I eat. Where do you want to go?_ Deidara sent it, and squealed a little in his throat. This couldn't really be happening to him.

_ Anywhere. _Anywhere, anywhere. Did he know any good restaurants? No. Haku would know some, he was into all that fancy bullshit like fancy eating and whatnot. Deidara stopped, his thoughts of fancy restaurants evaporating from his brain. Anywhere meant Sasori just wanted to see him, he didn't care where they went or what they did.

Sasori just wanted to see him.

_How about you come to my house tomorrow and we can talk about it. _Deidara suggested, punching in the address of his house, and pushed send with his thumb.

_Fine._ Was the only reply, but nothing short of 'I'm madly in love with you, Deidara Hoshigaki' would have been better to the blonde. He carefully set his phone down on the dresser and then slapped at the switch on his wall, turning off his light. He burrowed under his covers, squeezing his eyes shut. He needed plenty of sleep to look amazing for Sasori tomorrow.

He fell into a sweet slumber with a sweet smile on his lips.

* * *

** So of course I couldn't leave you hanging with Sasori and Deidara. Deidara is incredibly fun to write, just like Naruto. Lol, I guess the saying about blondes is true? **

** So, I totally love KisaIta. I hope you guys do, too, because they're the last couple I'm going to introduce, I think. Maybe not, but we'll see. In fact, this story has all of my very favorite yaoi couples from Naruto EXCEPT KakaIru, and I couldn't think of a way to include them. Maybe I'll just a do a nice oneshot pertaining to them later to make up for it. **


	18. If You Say Run, I'll Run With You

**So I lost inspiration for this fic for a little while, but I read a few great fanfics by my fellow authors, and regained it! I already have a few chapters laid out in my mind, I just have to type them up. As always, thank you for your patience and encouragement :) **

* * *

When the sun rose, it's liquidy rays of light seeping in through the window, Kisame's small eyes were locked on the ceiling, instead of hidden behind closed lids like they should have been. Itachi, _his_ Itachi, had been hurt. The black-haired man rarely admitted to being vulnerable about anything, especially when it came to emotional matters, but the shark could tell. He could tell from the way his voice had gone all soft and small and guarded, and first time in a long time, the man had tripped. Tripped and nearly fallen.

Sure, it was to be expected of a blind person to stumble every once in awhile, but it was notorious Uchiha-style to be an incredibly fast learner, and this was no exception. He had learned how to memorize certain places, knew where to dodge stepping. And when he was somewhere new and unfamiliar, he could test the ground lightly with his feet before establishing a pattern. And he could do it subtly, without people noticing.

"Damn it all." Kisame muttered, sitting up. He had barely gotten a wink of sleep the entire night. All he wanted was to comfort his lover, to tell him everything would be okay. It must have been awful for him to hear Haku's voice, finally, after all of the years of basically thinking of him as a symbol; A symbol of how he and Kisa couldn't live together. He sighed, resigned. He knew he couldn't call. Ita wouldn't want to talk right now. He'd give him a day or so to cool off, and then he'd try and talk to him.

The man was prone to sulks and temper, but God did Kisa love him. As far as the shark was concerned, the Uchiha was perfect in pretty much every way. Looks, personality, even when he was so angry, he had a beautiful furrow between his eyebrows that Kisame just loved to smooth away with his thumb. Even though once in a while when he did that, it didn't suceed in evaporating Itachi's temper, it magnified it, resulting in an elegant knee rammed directly into the larger man's crotch. It was usually worth it.

And what could he do with Haku? The horrified look full of hurt that boy had given him had ripped at his heartstrings. He hadn't wanted his youngest brother to find out about Ita that way, but he supposed it had to happen somehow. He just didn't know Haku would take it so personally that he and Itachi didn't live together. It might have been _because_ of the pretty teenager, but it wasn't his _fault_. Kisame had made his own choices, and he didn't regret them. Of course he would love to live with his beloved Itachi, and felt free to be able to do that one day. When Haku was ready.

Maybe Zabuza was his savior. Maybe the tall, brown-haired bodyguard really knew what he was doing. It certainly seemed so, if the way he had readily protected the boy at the restaurant was any indication. But something was amiss. . .

Something in the way the man looked at Haku, with the heat in his eyes. Something in the way Haku seemed to find it all too normal for Zabuza's hand to brush his shoulder or arm, or for the boy to lean into the man's chest for support when they thought nobody was looking.

Kisame couldn't quite put his finger on it, but he was sure there was something wrong. Something different, not normal. He sighed again, thoughtfully, racking his brain, befire his eyes widened in realization.

_Deidara. _His mind whispered at him. Ah, of course, his _other_ younger brother. The hyper blonde was so nosey and attentive he would know whatever was going on with Zabuza and Haku. The shark grinned. Part one of his investigation was to begin that day.

* * *

Yawning, Haku tried his best to stay asleep, warm and bundled in his cover. He didn't want to be awake yet, his dreams were too great. Smiling a little, he tried to recall all of them, but knew some of them were forever lost in the recesses of his own mind. Maybe he would have them again that night. Anyway, he was pretty sure all of them involved Zabuza. What kind of dreams would they be if they didn't?

He wiggled out from under his cover anyway, and shook his head, letting his mussed hair tumble down his back and shoulders before he stood and glared into his closet. It was getting colder and colder every day, and about this time of year Bindi or Parkins would scold him for wearing something that wasn't at least long-sleeved. And he was certain he couldn't wear any kind of shorts until spring. Frowning, he yanked a pair of jeans off the rack and a normal t-shirt. He could wear what he wanted.

Well, maybe he should listen to them. They were only trying to help. Growling at himself, he pulled one of the jackets he had bought the previous day off the rack as well. Pulling everything on, he glanced at himself in the mirror. He looked good. And Bindi and Parkins couldn't bitch at him for underdressing. Smiling a little, he pulled open a tiny drawer in a fancy jewely box he had gotten on one of his birthdays, and pulled two tiny white ribbon bows out. Clipping one onto each side of his hair, he thought about whether Zabuza would like them or not. He would probably think they were cute, Haku thought giddily, remembering the man's words.

After brushing his teeth, he made his way down the stairs, thinking. Maybe he could get Zabuza to take him off somewhere today so he could take pictures. The man was pretty much agreeable toward anything he wanted, so it shouldn't be too hard. _Well, except one thing._ He mind nagged at him. He scoffed, rolling his eyes. The man couldn't hold out forever. Haku could tell in the way he had to grit his teeth and clench his fists every time he told him to get off. Any day now, and he was all too certain he'd no longer be a virgin. Trying not to let his mind drift to the events that would take place to result in that, he glanced down at his feet. Of course he failed miserably at not thinking of he and Zabuza in bed together, but it was the thought that counted, right? And who _wouldn't_ think about the bodyguard, anyway? He was so. . . Muscled. Haku was certain he could-

"Earth to Haku." Deidara said cheerfully, waving a hand rudely in his younger brother's face. The brunette blushed, and cleared in his throat.

"Yes?"

"Whatcha thinking about?"

"Nothing." Haku said quickly, picking up a magazine in defense, and absently thumbing through it. Deidara grinned knowingly.

". . . Yeah, un, I bet it had nothing to do with _Zabuza_." He cooed the man's name, making Haku snarl.

"Shut up!" The boy cried. "And what are you so happy about, anyway?" He said mockingly.

"I've got a date today." The blonde bragged, glancing up at the ceiling. "I'll probably be gone like all day."

Haku tilted his head, more interested than he wanted to be. "With Sasori?"

"That's right. He gave me his phone number and asked me out."

"I told you." Haku replied grudgingly. Why was everything so easy for the damn blonde? Deidara shrugged, as if he had no idea that he was attractive.

"I suppose. " He said quickly, waving the compliment off. "Anyway, un, he's coming over later so we can talk about where we want to go."

"Coming here?" Haku replied incredulously. Deidara nodded, his eyes narrowing.

"Yeah so what, un?"

Haku shrugged in mock casualty, glancing away slyly. "If I was trying to get a guy to like me, I sure wouldn't bring him here."

"And why the fuck not?" The middle brother asked, placing a fist on his hip.

"You don't want him to only like you because we have money." Haku whispered. So it was a low blow, but a boy couldn't help where he got his tactics. Deidara was always teasing him for liking Zabuza!

Deidara went to reply, and stopped, frowning. "I. . ." He thought a moment, and turned up his nose, his blue eyes flashing. "As if a guy wouldn't like me, anyway. I'm hot as Hell, and I'm a blonde, un. _You_ wouldn't know, Haku. Men think of you like a child."

"That's not true." Haku hissed, his fists clenching.

"I bet Zabuza does." Deidara said softly, smirking. Haku had pissed him off, and he knew maybe he was going a bit far, but he didn't care. Nothing was going to ruin his mood today. "I bet Zabuza thinks of you like a little boy. _That's_ probably why he won't have sex with you."

"At least men don't sleep with me and then go off and laugh behind my back!" Haku cried, his arms snapping up to shove his brother backward a step. Deidara looked shocked for a moment at the physical contact, but quickly recovered and shoved the brunette back. Haku whimpered as his back met the wall, hard. So Deidara was a little stronger than him. "Sasuke was right, you're a slut, Deidara!" He cried, his hand cracking against Deidara's face. Not necessarily a slap, just an open-palmed hit.

"You little bitch." Deidara snapped, his hand flying up to nurse his cheek, which he was sure would have a red mark on it. It better have fucking faded before Sasori came, or he'd kill the little bastard in his sleep. "You're just mad because you're a little crossdressing freak and nobody wants you, un." He raised his hand, which was clenched into a defiant fist, drawing it back to hit Haku as hard as he possibly could, hopefully somewhere in his stupid face.

"That's enough!" A deep voice from behind them snapped. Both boys turned, but not in time for Deidara to see the hand coming for him. Kisame snatched him up by his shirt collar, lifting him at least 2 inches off the ground, and holding him there.

"Kisa, let me fucking go!" Deidara screamed. "That little freak hit me!"

"Don't call me a freak!" Haku snapped, wondering if it would be totally inappropriate to plow his own fist into the blonde's stomach while he was restrained. When his hand seemed to list of it's own accord to do just that, he felt someone's much larger hand grab it. He gasped a little, his face flying up to see Zabuza glaring at him, his eyes filled with a deadly poison. He bit his lower lip. "Z-Zabuza." He whispered. Oh God, they had heard everything. Even the part about. . .

"What the fuck is wrong with the two of you?" Kisame snarled. He flicked Deidara away from him as easily as if he were swatting a fly, and the blonde landed on his ass a few feet away, snarling.

"God, _fuck you_, Kisame! It's always my fault, right!?" He snapped, raising himself up to his knees. The shark seemed to take this into consideration, and turned to the youngest. He scooped the brunette up in one move by the front of his shirt collar and tossed him over to where Deidara had landed. He seemed satisfied with this, and could barely resist the urge to stick out his tongue at his younger brother.

Zabuza glanced between the three of them, his eyes finally connecting with Kisa's, who looked angrier than he had hardly seen anyone. "And you." The shark said, his hands trembling with fury. "I think we need to have a talk."

Deidara's eyes widened slightly as he realized the two men had heard everything he and Haku had been arguing about. He glanced over at Haku, whose eyes had already welled up with tears, and with good reason. He wondered if his parents would fire Zabuza, and he and Haku would never be able to see each other again. He wondered even more if he and Kisame would fight. He looked away from his brother quickly. This wasn't his fault, no way. It's not like he knew Kisa had been in hearing distance of everything. And it wasn't his fault Haku was having a secret love affair with his bodyguard.

A vivid memory of Haku's flushed, but serenly smiling face when he had told Deidara that he was in love with Zabuza. He was so happy with the man. _Aww man_, Deidara's mind whined at him.

"Uh, Kisa! W-wait!" Deidara said quickly. Haku didn't look up, he seemed far too wrapped up in his own misery and grief. The shark turned slowly towards them.

"What, Deidara?" He snapped.

"Y-you and I need to talk first." He said quickly. The man cocked an eyebrow.

"Is that so?"

"Yes, please, it's important." He said. Kisa sighed exasperatedly.

"Fine. Whatever. Go wait for me in the dining room. Now!" He said loudly when the blonde didn't move. Deidara stood quickly, and hurried into the dining room, thinking of what he would say. "Don't move a fucking muscle. Either of you." He said. Zabuza frowned, but didn't really think he was in a position to argue. After all, he _was_ the bad guy here. He knew exactly how it would appear to anyone who didn't understand. It would look like him using the beautiful teenager's feelings for him, for his own sexual favor. Of course that wasn't how it was, but how could he possibly explain that to the shark? How could Kisame ever understand that he really was in love with Haku?

Deidara's face whipped up when Kisa stomped into the room and sat loudly in one of the chairs. "Speak. And make it quick." He said.

"O-of course, un." Deidara nodded quickly. "I just wanted to tell you. . . It's my fault, about the, uh. . . You know." He said, stalling for time.

"Spit it out, Deidara, I don't have time for this."

"I was just trying to make Haku upset." He lied. "H-He. . . Well, I don't know if he would want me to tell you, but. . . He has a crush on Zabuza." He said quickly, trying not to look into Kisa's eyes. The oldest brother was usually decent at being able to tell if someone was lying or not. "He's embarassed about it, and I found out because I, uh. . . Read his journal." He went on talking before Kisame could comment. "And when I found out, I teased him about it. He begged me not to tell anyone, and I haven't, and Zabuza doesn't know, but I guess he does now." He finished weakly.

"A crush?" Kisame asked incredulously, but Deidara could tell he was buying it.

"Yeah. I mean, uh. . . Can you blame him, un? Zabuza is totally handsome." Deidara didn't particularly think so, Zabuza was a little too rugged-looking for his taste, but he supposed the bodyguard did have some attractive characteristics.

"Is that right?" Kisame asked, raising an eyebrow. Deidara could tell he wasn't very good at being able to tell what a teenager boy would think was handsome.

"Yeah, totally. And he's so. . . Calm. It's pretty hot." He said, and cleared his throat. "But, uh, anyway, un, I just wanted you to know that, so you wouldn't get mad at Zabuza. I mean, before now, I don't think he even knew Haku had a crush on him. Well, maybe, sometimes it's kind of obvious you know." He said, embellishing his story. Okay, he was taking the lie a little far, but oh well. Haku owed him big fucking time for this. "It's kind of cute, actually. But harmless really."

". . . Yes." Kisame agreed slowly. "It's normal for him to have crushes. . . Isn't it?" He said thoughtfully, almost to himself.

"Y-yeah!" Deidara said, smiling shakily. "Of course it is. I'd. . . I'd be worried if he _didn't_ like Zabuza. I mean, the guy is so nice and thoughtful towards him, not to mention he saved his life. Pretty heroic, don't you think, un?"

"Yes." The shark replied. His temper seemed to have ebbed, much to Deidara's relief. As pissed as he was at the little freak for messing up his face, it's not like he wanted to ruin his brother's one chance at love and happiness. "I'm glad you told me all this."

". . . Yeah, but Haku must be embarassed. About Zabuza finding out about his crush. Maybe you shouldn't even mention it, un?"

"You're right." Kisame agreed. "Thanks." He said, standing up from the table. He walked out. Deidara groaned softly, laying his head on the table. Jeez, that had been a close one.

* * *

A few hours later, Deidara sat crosslegged on the bathroom counter, his forehead pressed against the mirror, sighing dramatically. This was complete, utter bullshit. It was a half hour until Sasori was supposed to get there, and the red mark he sported on his face had only faded minimally, and was still pretty bad in Deidara's mind. He had wanted to look perfect for the auburn-haired man. Because even when he looked good, Sasori could always find something to insult. He could only imagine the kind of things the man would say if he looked like crap when he came over.

"So unfair." He pouted at himself, poking his cheek with his finger softly.

He didn't move when he heard someone step into the bathroom softly. There were plenty of other bathrooms in the house, if someone needed to use it, they could just go to one of the other ones. There was no reason they needed this particular one when it was clear he was using the sink. . . Even if it was just to sit on.

He couldn't help but turn his head when he felt someone press an object into his shoulder. He stared down at it. A little beige container of. . . Something.

"Is this make-up?" Deidara asked flatly, raising his eyes to stare into his brother's tawny ones.

"Sort of." Haku said quietly. "It will blend in with your skin tone and cover that mark. Let me do it." He said. Deidara turned obligingly, turning his reddened cheek toward the brunette, eyes narrowed. Haku carefully dipped a single finger into the stuff, and rubbed it in carefully and evenly. He had been right when picking it out for Deidara's milky skin color, it blended in perfectly, and looked as though the mark had never even been there. "Finished." He whispered. The blonde turned back toward the mirror and eyed his reflection critically.

"It's gone." He said, relieved. "I'm still pissed."

"I know." Haku said softly, his eyes lowered toward the ground as he twisted the cap back onto the make-up. "You should be."

"Damn right. You almost ruined my date." Deidara said loudly, laying his head back onto the mirror.

"You almost ruined my life." Haku retorted, but with no heat or anger in his voice. Deidara looked at him wearily.

"Do you even know how hard it is to lie to Kisame?"

"Thank you so much, Deidara." Haku said nearly inaudibly. He felt his eyes get wet again, with tears of gratitude. "I really don't know how to thank you." He sniffled.

"Oh my God." Deidara rolled his eyes, giving the boy's shoulder a light shove. "Quit with the waterworks."

"Sorry." Haku said quietly. He swiped at his eyes with the back of his hand. "I really thought. . . You know."

"Yeah." The blone said dismissively. "Anyway, this just means you owe me."

"Anything." Haku promised quietly.

"Well, you'll have to give me enough time to think of what it is I want from you." He said haughtily, and Haku nodded slowly.

"Anything." He repeated, then he paused. "Where is Kisa, anyway?"

"He left." Deidara said. "I think he went over to that guy's house." Haku tried not to think about 'that guy'.

Both boys glanced at each other when they heard the doorbell sound. Deidara hopped off the sink and basically threw himself out the bathroom door before either of them could say a word. Haku followed closely behind him.

"Damn it." Deidara hissed when they reached the foot of the stairs. They could see down to the entrance hall, where Parkins had already answered the door for Sasori, who walked calmly into the room, the door closing behind him.

"Is that him?" Haku whispered. The blonde looked back at him, nodding.

"Cute, right?" He asked, leaning over the rail, staring at the man.

". . . Yeah." Haku said, peering down. "He's got nice eyes." He said honestly. He could tell even from up there, they were an interesting shade of what looked like a mixture of copper and honey.

"They get darker sometimes when he's aggravated." Deidara said matter-of-factly. Then he bit his lip. "Do I look okay?"

"You look good." Haku said honestly. He did, of course. He never saw Deidara looking less than great. "Anyway, he already likes you, right?"

"Mmhmm." Deidara said quietly. "Okay, so I guess I should go down and talk to him, right?"

"Duh." Haku retorted. He watched Deidara flounce happily down the stairs, and immediately turned and headed back into the hallway. He didn't want to spy on them.

Deciding whether to go into his own bedroom and be alone or to go into Zabuza's and be with him was easy. Knocking quietly on the man's bedroom door, he waited for an answer. He frowned when he didn't get one. He knocked again, a little louder. Still no reply. Maybe Zabuza was sleeping. . . Turning the knob slowly, he opened the door.

"Zabuza?" He wondered softly, peering around the room. His breath caught in his throat, his cheeks warming up when he realized what he was hearing; drops of water constantly slapping the floor of the shower in the connecting bathroom. Zabuza was taking a shower. Swallowing, Haku glanced over at the closed bathroom door. He knew the man was stressed, he had thought the same as Haku. . . Until Deidara had lied for them. Maybe he was ust taking a nice, relaxing shower.

Haku closed the door behind him, sitting on the edge of the man's bed, wondering what to do. There was one very desirable, very dangerous option, of course. Strip down to nothing and sneak attack the man in the steamy shower, where he would be slick and soapy and naked and wet and unexpecting. The boy's eyes widened at the mental image.

. . . Yeah. That seemed like the best idea he had ever thought of. He was pretty sure Deidara was gonna be distracted with Sasori for awhile, anyway.

Pulling off his shirt and laying it on the man's bed, he hesitated a second, his fingers brushing the gold button on his jeans. Looking back up at the door, he sighed. How would Zabuza really feel about all this?

Favorable, Haku decided. The man wanted him, he just knew it. But he was so. . . Careful. The brunette scowled. Always treating him like glass that was going to break and shatter at the wrong touch. Well, that was just. . . Ridiculous. He was perfectly capable of making his own decisions. And he was old enough to have sex. . . Especially with someone who was in love with him.

He growled as he roughly unbuttoned his jeans and pulled them down his legs, laying them on the bed. He slipped a finger into the elastic waistband of the little blue boxer shorts he wore, but stopped. Why was he nervous? Zabuza had seen. . . Everything before. Waving off the feeling, he took them off, too.

Taking a deep breath, he opened the bathroom door quickly, and yanked open the shower door before Zabuza could protest.

He had wanted to just go in, like it was so easy. But when he had pulled at that frosted glass door, and Zabuza had given him a surprised look that had quickly faded into what looked like annoyance and resignation, he paused. Like he could really stop now.

"I-I. . . " He stumbled over his words, trying to keep his eyes above chest level. His bodyguard was just so. . . Sexy. "I didn't really think this through." He admitted, allowing a small smile to surface on his face through his embarrassment and obvious internal conflict. Zabuza cocked an eyebrow, but the ghost of a smile flitted over his lips.

"Shut the door, you're letting the cold air in." He suggested. Haku blushed, and took a step forward, letting the door close behind him. He was really doing it. "Haku, you really are a little pervert."

The teenager began to protest, but paused. He laughed softly. ". . . I guess I am." He confessed, lifting his eyes to the man's face. "I've never been this way before." He whispered. "You bring it out in me."

"It's hard for me to complain." The man replied. He wasn't sure what to do next. He backed up a step to let Haku fully under the hot spray of water. The boy complied, and Zabuza watched as the warm water flowed all through his silky hair down his creamy body. He felt his cock stiffen, but couldn't take his eyes off the gorgeous teen. His eyes hungrily followed the streams of water down the boy's chest, over his flat tummy, and streaking over his slender thighs.

Haku made a little noise of contention in his throat at the feel of it, his hands coming back to push his hair out of his face. It seemed to snap Zabuza out of his concentration. The boy's eyes flickered down to below the man's bellybutton, and he grinned naughtily, looking back up at the man's face. ". . . Can I touch?" The boy asked quietly, and Zabuza grunted in response. Taking that as assent, Haku's fingertips drifted shyly from the man's abs down the little trail leading from his bellybutton to his dick. "You're so hard." He murmured in delight, as he once again enthralled by the feel of the man under his curious fingers.

Hardly able to take it anymore, Zabuza threaded his fingers into the lovely ebony locks of his sweetheart, pulling his pretty face up for a hard kiss. Their tongues tangled together in Haku's own sweet mouth, their lips fused together with enough force to bruise. "Oh, Zabuza." Haku cried softly, sounding faint. "I need you so much, you have no idea."

"Tell me more." The man muttered dizzily, planting rough, open-mouthed kisses along the boy's jawline, the saliva being washed away immediately by the water.

"I think about this all the time." He whispered desperately, his body already quivering with anticipation. "I was thinking about exactly this the other night, us in the shower together, while I stroked myself."

Zabuza groaned a little, feeling urgency. His teeth nipped at every inch of available flesh on the boy's neck and narrow shoulders. "I'd like to see that one day?"

"Me stroking myself?" Haku asked, gasping when the man's teeth grazed a sensitive spot on his flesh. His own small hands rubbed up his escort's chest, squeezing slightly, loving the feeling of muscles bunching and rippling.

"Nn, yes."

"I would do it for you whenever you wanted." He whispered, and one of his legs instinctively wrapped up and around the man's waist. Oh so flexible as always, Zabuza thought dimly, one of his hands trailing up the smooth leg and stopping to cup the globe of flesh that he had always wanted to feel. "I would do anything for you, Zabuza." He kept talking, feeling light-headed, as if he had taken some sort of potent drug. He moaned, throwing his head back as the man expertly grinded their groins together, their stiff arousals rubbing together deliciously. "More, more." He begged, delirious with pleasure already.

"Your skin feels so good." The man managed to say as his hands busied themselves with the boy's perfect ass, squeezing and moving it to make their bodies slide together roughly.

"Nngh, everything about you feels good." The boy replied throatily. "O-oh, Zabuza, I-I'm close already." He confessed, feeling embarrassment prick his cheeks. "I'm sorry." He moaned, his arms hugging the man's neck.

"It's okay, it's okay." He panted, but he couldn't stop bucking his hips against the boy's. It felt too amazing, Haku's hard cock throbbing against him, his beautiful voice strained and breathy, his hips moving quickly to try to get him to his release. "I know." He hissed, lifting the teen's body up off the floor and pressing him into the wall. His legs were wrapped around him tightly, just like in his own fantasy.

He had absolutely no leverage this way, Haku realized with despair. All he could do was let Zabuza's hips keep submitting him to that delicious friction. "Zabuzaaa. . ." He whined, pressing his lips to his bodyguard's collarbone and suckling. "I want you in me." He gasped out, his hands clenching the man's shoulders.

"I want to be in you." The man groaned, shaking. God, did he ever.

"I-I don't have anything." Haku moaned. Zabuza hadn't stopped grinding their bodies together, and if he didn't stop soon, he knew he was going to come everywhere. He had just waited so long for this.

"Soap." The man retorted, obviously understanding that Haku had been talking about lubrication. Scooping up the bar with one hand, he lathered it, making his hands slick. He rubbed his thumb and index finger together, and slid his hand up, letting his finger rest at the tight little hole concealed between the boy's thighs. He pushed it in, and felt his cock pulse. Haku was so _tight_. He could only imagine driving himself into that wonderful clenching passage, sliding in and out while the boy writhed in pleasure and moaned.

"Ah!" Haku tried as hard as he could to keep silent, but when the man slid a second digit into him, he couldn't help but cry out. It hurt. The tiny sound of pain seemed to wake Zabuza from some sort of dream, as he went completely still for a moment.

"Haku. . . " He whispered, suddenly unbearably gentle. The boy shifted slightly, and pressed his face into the man's neck.

"Yes?" He asked fearfully. He thought he knew what was coming.

"I can't do this." He said flatly. Haku groaned, wanting to scream in frustration.

"How can you say that?" He whimpered in despair. "How can you say that when we're naked, you have me against the wall. . . Your fingers are inside me." He whispered harshly, wanting to burst into hopeless tears. "I throw myself at you, and you just keep pushing me away. I must be so ugly to you, Zabuza."

"That's not it, and you know it."

"It has to be!" Haku cried angrily. His body was aching with need, begging him for just one more minute of stimulation. But his heart was throbbing with pain. "My legs are spread for you, you could do _anything_ you wanted to me. You know that. You know all you have to do is take me. And you won't."

"Haku, this is your virginity. You're really asking me to take your innocence in a shower?"

"I don't care where we do it, Zabuza. Nothing matters, except that it's with you. Please." He begged, sniffling.

Zabuza sighed. "Haku, this isn't what I want for us. I. . ." He stopped for a moment, took a deep breath. "I have the rest of my life to do this to you. Everywhere. However you want it. But. . . You're going to end up regretting it if you just give it up this way."

Haku shook hs head, squeezing his eyes closed. "No." He argued.

"Yes, you will." The man said gently. "Haku, I promise you that I'm going to take your virginity. Nobody else is ever going to have you. You're mine."

"When?" He whispered.

"Soon." The man replied soothingly. "Very soon. I swear." He stroked the boy's wet, warm body lovingly. "I'm sorry you're frustrated." Haku didn't answer, but pleaded with the man with his big cocoa eyes. Zabuza understood, nodding. Their lips pressed together, gentler now, than before. Haku's legs clenched around the escort's waist, reminding him that they were still very naked and wet and pressed together.

"I love you." Zabuza said softly, rubbing their slick bodies together again until Haku was sighing and moaning and quivering again.

When they both came nearly simultaneously, with loud cries, they stood panting in each other's arms, kissing sweetly until they caught their breath.

* * *

** Lol, I can totally see some of you being like "OH, FINALLY, THEY'RE GOING TO DO IT!" then reading all intently, and then after a minute and a half, being like :( "FFFFFFFUCK!!!" **

** Sorry everyone, it's a fic, not a porno! xD But there will be sex, if you are patient. Someday. (By the way, longest chapter so far! :D)**

** - Jesse**


	19. I Want Your Disease

**So sorry for the huge gap in between updates, everyone! All is explained after this chapter, which is pretty bad, to be honest. But maybe it will hold you guys off for another few weeks - month until I can get a new comp to update regularly.**

Sasori walked in slowly, eyes appraising the huge entrance hall, taking in all of the blindingly white furniture and walls, including a decadent chandelier and two marble columns. The kind of room you saw in movies about the lifestyles of the rich and famous. But this was where Deidara lived. No wonder he was such a prissy, spoiled, needy brat. Even the old, proper butler was just too cliche, the scorpion was very nearly expecting a camera crew to come out and tell him it was all a joke.

Before he had too much time to dwell on the thoughts of the insanely wealthy, he heard someone stomping down one of the two enormous staircases, and quickly saw who it was.

"Ah, Young Master, you have a visitor." Parkins told him gravely.

"Thank you, Parkins. We don't need anything. We'll be leaving soon." Deidara said, smiling. The elderly man bowed himself out, and the blonde was left only with Sasori in the room. He turned his head slowly, letting his lashes settle halfway over his eyes. "Hi." He said, because he wasn't sure what to say. Awkwardness wasn't something he experienced often, but it also wasn't often he liked a guy so much.

"I didn't really believe them." The auburn-haired man said, shrugging. He plopped down carelessly on a $500,000 couch, propping his dirty boots up on the $150,000 cherrywood coffee table.

"About what?" Deidara asked, sitting beside him, eyes narrowed. It didn't occur to him to tell Sasori to get his dirty shoes off the table, he really didn't give a shit about his parent's expensive items. And anyway, it's not as if they couldn't easily replace anything that got ruined.

"How rich you are. You're like a little spoiled heiress."

"That's not true." Deidara denied. He knew this would happen.

"Sure it is. You're 18, right?" Sasori asked, already knowing the answer. He definitely wouldn't have fucked around with anybody under 18. Jailtime was not appealing to him.

"Yeah, so?"

"And I bet when you turned 18, you got a big, fat juicy bank account with more money than you'll ever need in it." When the blonde didn't answer, Sasori smirked. "For doing nothing."

"I haven't done 'nothing'." He snapped vehemently, crossing his arms over his chest.

"What have you done to deserve such wealth?" Sasori asked curiously.

"Why did you even come here today?" Deidara asked, frowning. "You obviously don't want to date me." Which stung. It seems he was mistaken about the man's intentions yet again.

"Who says I don't?" He asked, frowning to match the blonde's angry face. His hand came up from his lap to cup the middle Hoshigaki's chin in his fingers, holding it there. The blonde didn't move, but his sapphire eyes slitted defiantly.

"If you did, you wouldn't treat me like this." He said through gritted teeth. It was hard to talk and remain angry with those eyes piercing his own, and that strong hand holding his face. He felt like he was melting, heat slowly creeping up his body from his toes to encompass him until he was tingling with sensation.

"What? Don't I treat you like everyone else?" He asked in mock surprise, his voice deathly quiet.

"No."

"That's because I don't give a shit how rich you are, or how good you suck dick." The words instantly made goosebumps rise on the blonde's skin. He wanted to shiver, but stared intently into those penny-colored eyes.

"Then what do you care about?" He asked. What else was there?

Sasori waited, acutely aware of how the blonde was anticipating his every word and move. Deidara had really fallen for him, of that he was completely sure. It was nearly comical, the spoiled little princess being so desperately obsessed with someone like him. He supposed it came from some rebellious streak, the idea of shocking mommy and daddy with the man he had chosen to associate himself with. And it would be just too easy, to manipulate the blue-eyed boy into doing every little thing that Sasori could want. Money, sexual favors, anything he could possibly desire. But for some reason, the idea didn't give him the feeling it usually would have. The thought of taking advantage of the sexy little teen wasn't nearly as appealing as it should have been. But he was sure of one thing.

"I want you to submit to me." Sasori said quietly, and watched melted sapphire eyes widen. When the boy's lips parted slightly, anticipating, he brought his face forward so they were only inches apart.

"Whatever you want." Deidara heard the words slip out of his own mouth before he could stop them. His heart was pounding in his chest. The scorpion still had a firm grip on his chin, but he wasn't sure he could have moved under normal circumstances, anyway. He sincerely hoped Parkins or Bindi or one of the other maids weren't watching him. He would hate for gossip of this kind to be spread around his house and possibly get back to his parents. Not that he wanted Sasori, but that he turned into a pathetic, mesmerized freak whenever the man even looked at him.

"Whatever I want." Sasori repeated flatly, eyes intense. Deidara wasn't entirely sure what Sasori wanted, but he was 100% sure of what he himself wanted, at least at this exact moment in time.

"Are you going to kiss me?" The blonde practically purred, tongue flitting out for a nano-second to wet his lips. The goosebumps hadn't yet faded back into his skin, and he didn't really want them to. He could live with this deliciously wicked anticipation forever, it seemed. He bet Sasori was a fucking amazing kisser.

Before Sasori could answer, both of them heard a door open and close, and hushed voices coming from above them. Deidara snarled, glaring at the staircase as his younger brother descended them. Talk about the worst timing in the history of the fucking world.

When the youngest Hoshigaki's eyes raised from the floor to see the two in the living room, he looked genuinely surprised.

"Oh! Deidara. . . I thought you would be gone by now. . ." He said quietly and apologetically.

"We were just leaving." The blonde said, bewteen gritted teeth. He stood up quickly, ignoring the puzzled look in Haku's eyes. Sasori ignored Deidara's obvious agitation and stood as well, eyes scrutinizing the brunette for a moment.

"I'm Sasori." He introduced himself smoothly, taking the younger sibling's hand and brushing his lips over the knuckles like someone in the movies. Haku looked shocked for a moment, but his impecable manners demanded he recover quickly.

"I-it's nice to meet you." He said quietly. He could see his blonde brother practically seething behind the aubrun-haired man, but dutifully ignored him. "I'm Haku."

Zabuza watched in half amusement, half annoyance as the older man let go of Haku's lovely hand, his attention obviously still 100% on the young brunette. The bodyguard was too aware of the reason Sasori was so intent on Haku to be jealous. He could see the attention-starving Deidara getting angrier by the second, and wondered if Sasori had ulterior motives pertaining to the pretty, perky blonde.

"Your bone structure is quite interesting, Haku." Sasori remarked.

"Thank you." The boy answered, a little embarassed, but flattered. He wondered if Zabuza liked his bone structure. He hoped Deidara was too irritated to notice that both he and Zabuza were still slightly damp from their shared shower, and his own long hair was clearly still wet. His cheeks flushed slightly at the thought of explaining the sweaty, amazingly sexy encounter to his brother before the familiar twinge of frustration sparked. He wished Zabuza would just take him already. It had been only been a few days since they had met, but he felt as though he had known the man forever.

"Forgive me, but I'm an artist. I always notice little details like that." Sasori was the perfect picture of a charmer, but Haku could tell he was one of those brooding types.

The ghost of a smile flitted around Sasori's mouth, a glint in his eye as he could practically feel Deidara's jealousy and anger radiating off the blonde in waves. It was just so easy to read him, and so easy to read the younger, dark-haired one as well. It amazed the man how different they were.

Haku was innocence incarnate without a hint of naivete, while Deidara was completely naive, but had no innocence. The youngest sibling knew what sorts of wickedness disguised itself in the forms of people and actions while the blonde was practically oblivious to anything unpleasant, his rose-colored glasses distorting everything in his path. But as they often said, ignorance was bliss. Deidara certainly seemed a lot more chipper than his brother. And Sasori would have bet his life savings that Haku was a virgin. Or had been, he corrected himself, until the tall man had gotten to him. He could practically see the auras around them, connected and intertwined. He wondered if Deidara knew they were involved. Or noticed that both of them were wet from a shower, obviously taken together.

"We _were_ just leaving, weren't we, Sasori?" Deidara asked, practically snarling. He tugged on the man's hand pointedly. Sasori turned to him, satisfied. As if he was interested in the young Haku. Pretty yes, but not enough to actually even momentarily distract him from the blonde bundle of mischief who was currently vying for his undivided attention.

"Oh we were, weren't we?" Sasori asked mockingly, his eyes flicking back to Haku. "Nice meeting you."

"Likewise." Haku managed softly, somewhat stunned, as the pair exited, closing the door behind them loudly. He turned slowly, looking strangely at Zabuza, his lower lip caught between his teeth.

The man smiled. Sometimes Haku was just too adorable. It still amazed him that someone so beautiful and sweet could see him as anything other than repulsive. "I believe you just got flirted with." He suggested, lifting one dark eyebrow.

"He was just being polite." Haku argued quietly, blushing. "Can we just forget it? I know Deidara's gonna kill me when he gets home." The boy sighed.

"Sorry." The man leaned down, pressing their lips together for a second. When he pulled back, aku looked even more shocked than when Sasori had been complimenting him. "What?" He asked a little incredulously at the boy's surprised look.

"You kissed me." He said, mouth quirking up at the corner. He slipped his smaller hand into the man's, subtly pulling him toward the kitchen. He wanted to go down to his dark room, that had been the reason for even coming downstairs in the first place.

"I've done more than kiss you." Zabuza reminded him, allowing himself to be pulled along to where Haku wanted to go.

"Yes, but anyone could have seen."

The escort's eyes widened. "Oh! Shit. Shit, do you think Parkins or Bind-"

"Nobody saw. Nobody was there." Haku said quickly glancing back at him. And nobody would be down in his studio, either. Maybe he could convince Zabuza to cuddle with him on the little couch. Or maybe something a little less G-rated.

"I forgot you have servants and shit." He growled.

Haku didn't answer, but waited until they were down the stairs, the door leading down to the dark room securely closed. "I want you to be able to kiss me anywhere. Everywhere." He improvised.

"Haku, that's not going to happen."

"Ever?" The boy snapped, eyes flashing.

Zabuza hesitated, sensing this was a touchy subject. "Not for awhile. . ."

"You're embarassed by me." Haku said quietly. "Is it because of the way I dress?"

"No!" Zabuza growled. "It's not that at all!" His hands grasped the younger boy's shoulders. "Haku, you know I'm not ashamed of you. Why are you trying to provoke me?"

"I'm not. I want people to know about us."

"They will. When it's the right time. Do you even know how much trouble I could be in for this?"

"For being in love with me."

"For sucking your dick." The bodyguard said harshly. "Don't be so melodramatic. You've known from the beginning we had to keep this a secret. Are you trying to give me an ultimatum? Fuck you, or you'll tell everyone about us?" Haku didn't answer, only stared defiantly back into those cold gray eyes. Zabuza scowled. "Answer me, goddamn it!"

"Yes!" Haku cried, struggling against the strong hands of the man he loved. "Yes." He repeated, quieter. "Take my virginity."

"You're showing just how immature and NOT ready for a sexual relationship you are by acting like a spoiled brat." Zabuza hissed, his eyes dangerously hot. They had never argued before, and he never wanted to, but all the pent-up frustrations of the last few days were bubbling over. Not sleeping with Haku, trying to focus on his mission, keeping it a secret from everyone.

"If I'm a spoiled brat, then what does that make you I wonder." Haku whispered, his teeth bared. He wasn't struggling anymore, he was just plain livid. He rarely felt anger, but this was full-on rage.

"Is this what you want, Haku?" He snarled, snatching the slender boy up by his shoulders, kissing him roughly. He ignored the shocked gasp that tore from between the boy's beautiful lips as Zabuza's teeth and tongue roughly plundered inside his honey-sweet mouth. He scraped his tongue along the roof of the boy's mouth, claiming every part of him, while his hands tightened and clenched on the small shoulders. He growled, biting down hard onto the teen's full and already swollen bottom lip until he tasted thick copper ooze onto his tongue. He felt Haku quivering in his arms, and wasn't sure if it was from desire or fear. Or both.

His hands of their own accord gripped into the thin cotton of the boy's slim, ribbed t-shirt and ripped, the pretty fabric tearing with a loud noise and slithering down off his body onto the floor.

"Zabuza, d-" He silenced the boy's protest with a hand, squeezing hard. He ruthlessly ignored his huge, chocolate eyes that shimmered with shock and hurt. He was sure the quivering came from fear now. Haku was scared. Maybe Zabuza could scare him so much that he would fall out of love with the man. He was no good for the gorgeous teenager, anyway. As much as he loved Haku with a fierce, almost desperate passion, he was sure someone else could give him the life he deserved.

"Shut up. You wanted this. I'm giving you want you keep begging for." Zabuza reminded him harshly, using his free hand to easily unbutton the tight jeans of the boy, tugging them down slim hips and thighs until the denim locked around his knees. He felt Haku squirming in his grip, and could hear him whining behind the strong hand.

"Do you see what I could do to you now?" He asked, his voice a deadly quiet growl. Haku stopped struggling, stopped moving completely, except for his head nodding. Zabuza's hands loosened considerably, the one over the boy's mouth falling limply to his side. He felt where Haku's hot tears had leaked out from his eyes, down his cheeks and onto his hand.

The pretty teenager slid down the wall, landing on the floor in a crumpled heap, his face buried in his hands, shuddering with harsh sobs. Zabuza stayed standing, staring down hard at him. He could see several marks he had left in his frantic haste. He should never have hurt the boy, but Haku had to see. He had to see what Zabuza could do to him. "This is what I'll do to you when I lose control."

"No." Haku cried into his hands. He hadn't bothered to pull his clothes back into his place, and his shirt was in tatters anyway. His skin practically glowed in the dim lighting of the room. "No. You're my Zabuza. You love me."

"I'm not Zabuza." The man corrected. "I'm a 28-year-old killer. I'm not some hero in a romance novel, alright? This is the reason I didn't want to fuck you."

"It doesn't have to be like this." The teenager rubbed his red, swollen eyes. "You showed me that." He whispered, staring up at the man he was in love with. His words seemed to affect Zabuza physically. The man's fists clenched, his eyes glazing over. "I know you can be gentle with me, Zabuza. You've done it over and over. You held me." He breathed, his breath still shuddering out. "I need you." He finished, tears pouring out again.

The escort fell to his knees, gathering up the boy in his arms, holding him impossibly tight, clenching their bodies together, not caring that Haku was practically naked or that someone could come in at any moment.

"I'm just so afraid of hurting you, baby." He groaned against the beautiful brunette's ear, stroking the silky black hair he had come to love. "You're so small and delicate." He felt Haku's arms raise up tentatively to hug his neck.

"Don't try to scare me into hating you." He whispered. "It won't work. I'm in love with you. And nothing is going to change that."

"I'm so in love with you, Haku." He swore, his hands gripping the boy's face. "I don't want to hurt you, ok?"

"You won't." The teenager whispered. "I'm sorry."

"What could you possibly have to be sorry for?" Zabuza laughed without humor.

"It's just that I. . ." Haku hesitated slightly, embarassed. "I know I'm pushing you." He took a deep breath, glancing down at himself. Frowning, he lifted his body up off the cold stone floor enough to tug his jeans back up over his hips. Not bothering to button them, he continued. "I know I am, Zabuza." He repeated. "But. . . You don't think sex will make us. . . Closer?" He asked meekly, the hurt in his eyes evident.

"I think that what you just said is what every 17-year-old thinks." Zabuza sighed. He leaned back against the wall beside the boy, throwing an arm around his slender shoulders, enjoying the feel of the teen's head resting on his shoulder. "When we have sex, it'll be great. Really great, but it won't make us closer. We're already. . . Like this." He said, indicating their relationship with a broad gesture of his hand.

"But it'll be. . . My first time."

"And people hardly ever end up being with the person they lost their virginity to forever."

Haku's eyes widened, staring at his escort incredulously. ". . . You want me to go sleep with someone else?"

"No!" The brown-haired man growled. "Not ever. I didn't mean it wouldn't work for us. I just mean it won't do anything for our relationship. Young people like you are always looking to 'fix' relationships, when there isn't anything wrong with them to begin with. We're in love, okay? I don't need to fuck you to prove that, do I?"

"No." Haku said miserably, feeling like a complete idiot.

"Stop expecting it to be like what you see in the movies. I love you, you love me, when the time's right, we'll have sex. Okay?"

"Okay." He answered, resting his forehead on his knees. "Zabuza?" The man grunted in response. "Should I be nervous about it?"

"About. . . The pain, or. . .?"

Haku snorted a little, shaking his head quickly. "No. I can handle that. . . I meant. . . About pleasing you."

"No." He said flatly, frowning. "That's idiotic."

"Alright." Haku whispered. He laid his head back on the man's shoulder, snuggling comfortably into him.

It wasn't perfect like he saw in the movies, but Zabuza gave him something to believe in. Nobody had ever given him the same feelings inside, and he seriously doubted anyone else ever would. Zabuza was strong, handsome, serious to a fault, and obviously commited to him. What more could he ask for?

Feeling very much like they had somehow defied the odds and tricked the world by having happiness when fate so often denied it of deserving people, Haku brushed a lock of ebony hair behind his ear, and breathed in the musky scent of the person he wanted to spend the rest of his life with.

**My computer crashed several months ago, which is the reason nothing of mine has been updated. I have a job now, my orientation is july 19th so about a month after that, I will be getting my netbook and my stories will continue, including this one. That is all, and I'm sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused any of my expectant fans. **

** Okay so. . . Not my best, I know. This was done so rushed, you have no idea. I'm actually on my grandmother's computer and I definitely didn't want her accidentally stumbling upon something like this, so I did it all in one sitting! It was completely ridiculous and overdramatic, but hey, it's fanfiction. More about Kisa/Ita and Saso/Dei in coming chapters, I promise. And probly Naru/Sasu as well :] **

**I hope this pleases some of you. **

** - Jesse**


	20. While Every Day, My Confusion Grows

**Yeah so, this story hasn't been updated in like 2 years. A lot has happened in this span of time, and I just sort of lost touch with my 'writer' side, haha. I've grown up a lot and changed a lot, but hopefully I'm still able to write a decent chapter to make everyone happy. Leave me an **_**honest**_** review to let me know how I did. I think I may start posting stories and chapters on ff again, let's see how this goes.**

It was a clear, sunny day, with bright refreshing sunlight streaming down in thick rays, the brisk and cool wind flowing like satin ribbons through the air. Undeniably one of the most comfortable days that had been felt for the entire year. True to form, and true to his lover's assumptions, Itachi Uchiha was sulking. He was huddled in a humungous, velvety armchair which had room enough for 2 people to cuddle together, 2 thick comforters wrapped haphazardly around him, absorbed in his thoughts.

He had a rather large white container of tempura resting on the blankets huddled on his lap, in which he would pluck a salty fried piece of meat out of every so often, chewing it slowly and thoughtfully as if he were punishing it.

"Itachi, can you please put that down and talk to me? You're starting to freak me out." His long-time friend and one of his two roommates, Kakashi Hatake asked from across the room. He was watching television at a low volume, not for fear that the weasel would snap at him, but because it was currently on a commercial. "You've been eating that same box of food _all day_, and what's with all the sudden dungeon quality of this house? No lights, you haven't spoken a word, you're acting like some creepy gothic teenager. I didn't sign up to live in some irreverant emo shrine." He gestured widely with the remote, clicking his tongue condescendingly. But of course, the gesture was wasted on the sightless man. Very much the opposite of his serious friend, Kakashi was and had always been unapologetically loud with his voice and personality. "Listen, I'm not cleaning up the mess if you're deciding to hang yourself from the shower rod tonight. You're just going to stay there and rot." He waited nearly a minute for the man to respond in a huff. There was nothing Kakashi loved more than provoking and angering people, and Itachi was one of his all-time favorite targets. When he recieved no response, he frowned. "_God,_ can't you just call Kisame and let him straighten out whatever funky mood you're in with his dick? That always works."

Itachi sighed softly, shaking his head. "First of all, I have no knowledge of the lights being on or off, as it makes no difference to me one way or the other, you raving idiot. Secondly, I just ordered this an hour or so ago, but I forgive your stupidity as we both know you have no concept of time." He paused for a moment, reflecting on his thoughts. "And there's no need to call Kisame or anyone. If you don't like the current mood I'm in, feel free to leave. Unlike you, I do have a multi-faceted personality so I am prone to different moods, not just the _one_ you have - Annoying."

Used to this kind of behavior, Kakashi was undaunted and was satisfied by the reaction. He grinned and went back to watching his television show, a trashy reality show that revolved around a group of women and their various endeavors. Itachi went back to eating his food at an unbearably slow pace, and his dark and stormy thoughts. Several minutes later, his cell phone rang with the tone that had been designated for the shark. Due to not being able to see the name on the screen of the phone, he had assigned a different sound to the people who he spoke to on a regular basis. The silver-haired man glanced over at him and waited for him to immediately grab the phone, flip it open and answer it, as was habitual for the weasel, especially when the call was from his boyfriend. He watched in slight bemusement as Itachi picked it up and swiftly clicked his thumb over the small button on the side, the one that silenced the ringing and allowed the call to go to voicemail.

"_Ohhh,_ I get it. You and Kisame had a little spat. Well, don't worry about it, my affronted friend. Even those with a seemingly _perfect _relationship such as Iru and I have disagreements. Nothing to slit your wrists over." He cooed dramatically. "What was it this time, did he hurt you with his freaky little teeth? Did he-?" Kakashi's mocking was cut short as a medium-sized bin of tools and supplies were dropped unnecessarily loudly onto the table beside him. He looked up owlishly into the chocolate eyes of his lover, Iruka Umino, and tried a charming smile.

"My, Kakashi, I'm so glad you have all this free time to pester Itachi. Now you can finally fix the door to the linen closet that you've been putting off, and while you're at it, go ahead and tighten up that leak problem we've been having in the downstairs bathroom sink. And after you've finished with that, I have a few other things you could help me with as well." He smiled widely and patronizingly at Kakashi, patting his shoulder affectionately.  
"But it's my day off, Iruka dear. You know I-"

"Yes." Iruka interrupted. "It was. Remember to put up the tools and things when you're down. And any mess you make better be cleaned up." He said in his polite but no-nonsense way. He continued staring and smiling at the man until Kakashi finally stood ceremoniously, grumbling, and snatched up the bin of supplies.

"Better be something in this for me. . ." He mumbled lowly under his breath as he stalked away to the bathroom for his punishment, manual labor. Iruka shook his head, but he was smiling in his serene way. Once Kakashi was out of the way, the quiet brunette took a seat close to Itachi.

"_Is_ there anything you wanted to talk about, Ita?" He inquired concernedly. "I'd be more than happy to just listen."

"Thank you, but. . . I'm fine." Both of them knew that was clearly not the truth, but Iruka was too tactful to comment or argue. He paused a moment before carefully speaking.

"Well, you know you will always have me if you ever do need to talk. We love you, Itachi. Kakashi too, although he never _has_ been helpful in a situation such as this, but. . ." He trailed off, then made a little noise in his throat before rubbing a hand fondly down Itachi's arm. "Anyway, we are here for you."

"I know that." And that was the end of that. Iruka had known the elder Uchiha since they had been in high school and was well aware of the fact that pulling emotion or information out of the man was like trying to steal money out of a high-security bank vault. "I guess I'll go supervise him and leave you to your thoughts." He expressed, walking toward the back part of the house, leaving him alone again.

This time, about 15 minutes later, when his cell phone rang with the shark's tone, he answered it.

Kisame was lonely, lonelier than he had felt in a long time. He sighed sadly and tried to will the awful feeling away, but to no avail. Everything sucked, his beautiful model-esque Ita was hurting, and he just wanted to _be with him_. He had called a few times already, but he knew his love was purposely ignoring the calls. As much as he would have liked to pretend like the former night had never happened, it had. And no amount of consolation or sex or romantic words or apologies could change that. Itachi had basically been face-to-face with the one reason for the majority of bad feelings in his life; _Haku_.

But who could blame him? He thought miserably, sighing and shoving his face into his pillow to repress his angry howl. Haku had been born when he had been 12, not a man, but old enough to understand the responsibility of being a big brother. Deidara had been a baby at the time, but even at that tender age, Kisa felt an overwhelming urge to protect him. He remembered the staggering rush of pride and importance he had felt when he had caught the little blonde bundle of mischief from bumping his head on the corner of the coffee table during a shaky, unskilled walk on chunky toddler legs.

Protecting his younger brothers was written in his DNA, even at the young age he had been at the time of Haku and Deidara's birth, he recognized that their parents were busier than most. Sure, he had never gone wanting for anything material, but he was acutely aware from other children's stories and watching wholesome family shows on tv that he should be getting more emotional attention from the two. He, of course, considered himself a very self-sufficient preteen and amicably recognized how busy both of them were with. . . Business meetings or _whatever_ it was adults were always so preoccupied with. But what if they weren't? What if they got scared or lonely or worried or needed protection from something bad? Who could be there for them? He could, and always would be. And the solemn vow he made at that tender age had never been broken.

He sighed again, aware he probably seemed whiny and wistful at this particular point in time and was glad no-one was around to see him, especially not Itachi. Whiny or wistful would certainly not be personality traits the weasel would find attractive or even appropriate for a grown male. Shaking off the thought, he picked up his phone and dialed.

This time, after the third ring, instead of hearing his lover's smooth voice instructing him to leave a message after the beep, he heard him answer.

"What is it, Kisame?" He cut to the chase as he always did. As far as Itachi was concerned, beating around the bush or skirting around an issue was for someone who was too weak to get what he wanted.

"I miss you." He said simply. "I'm sorry. Please let me come see you. Come let me be with you."

"I don't need you to come coddle me. I'm capable of taking care of myself." Itachi expressed with an air of arrogance.

Kisame knew how to play this; There was no way Ita would ever admit to being hurt or feeling sad or needing comfort. He was simply too stubborn, to unwilling to admit weakness. "I need it." He responded without a hint of shame. Revealing his weakness and needing the beautiful Uchiha was something he had no problem admitting. "Don't make me beg, Ita. I will, and you'll hate it."

"Then come if you want. But I'm not some damsel in distress like in one of your little fairytales. Don't entertain the notion that you're galloping over here like some white knight to rescue me."

"I would never." Kisa claimed sincerely, wondering why such a strange thought had even occured to the man. "I just really want to be with you, baby. Let me come and take you to bed and we can lay together and talk."

"Whatever you want." He answered briskly. "I'll be waiting." He said quietly after a few moments of silence, then Kisame heard the soft _beep _that indicated the call had ended. But he was smiling.

Deidara subtly smoothed his hair and checked his eyeliner using his reflection in the glass when he was sure Sasori wasn't watching. Sasori was across the cafe, ordering for both of them. He didn't even ask what I wanted, the blonde realized, after watching him for a moment standing at the counter. He supposed he didn't mind much. . . He had never spent time with such a pushy, presumptuous person before. It was certainly a different experience than his daily life or interaction on a date, which often consisted of him stating exactly what he wanted, when he wanted it, and how he wanted it and seeing it happen.

It was true that he wasn't respected by everyone in his social circle, and he supposed he deserved that, what with the promiscuity and the fact that he had fucked quite a lot of guys that had been in prior relationships and had no qualms about hiding it. As far as he was concerned, if your boyfriend was wanting a quick fuck from someone else, you were probably doing something wrong. Maybe if the prissy little prudes weren't so straight-laced and puritan, their men wouldn't come to _him_ for a little action. his thoughts immediately drifted to Sasuke Uchiha, who he unfailingly considered his mortal enemy and quite a nuisance to his style. Unlucky for him, they happened to have a lot of mutual friends, such as Neji, Lee, Shikamaru, and Kiba. Too many to mention actually, he thought bitterly. But at any rate, Deidara had no interest in introducing Sasuke's tan, muscular boy toy to what would surely be a far more interesting sexual experience than any he had experienced with the raven, even before his complete and undivided attention had began revolving around the red-haired Sasori. Not that Naruto wasn't totally hot, he was quite a looker, but he was pretty obviously entralled and absolutely in love with the brunette. For some reason, Deidara concluded resolutely, rolling his baby blues to the ceiling. Not that it mattered to him anyway, he was totally hardcore crushing on Sasori. . . That was obvious enough, too.

"You're quite an animated thinker." Sasori observed. He was sitting back at the table, staring at the blonde intently. "Does it take a lot of energy for you to hold an inner monologue like that, for you?" He inquired in mock politeness. Deidara folded his arms over his chest, poking out his pink lower lip.

"Just because I'm a blonde, un, doesn't mean I'm an idiot! I, un, happen to be very _deep_ which you would know if you would take the time to get to know me instead of insulting me all the time, yeah."

Sasori stared at him for a minute before speaking. "Was that incessant grunting habit something you've had since birth, or did you develop it?"

Deidara let out a breath, chewing his lower lip in slight agitation. Sasori was a self-proclaimed expert on reading people, especially someone as simple as the pretty teenager sitting across from him. Deidara's eyes seemed to reflect hurt before he swept his long dark lashes over them. The copper-eyed man was infinitely shocked at the twinge of guilt he felt at the pained look in the sky-colored eyes, and the urge to soothe and protect the beauty. Just as he had been shocked at the ardent wave of attraction he had felt when he had first laid eyes on the blonde. He didn't like that kind of guy, he had tried to convince himself. Shallow and vapid weren't personality traits he was attracted to, he had told himself bitterly and had willed himself to ignore the teenager at every turn. But he couldn't deny that over the span of time that followed from meeting Deidara and now, his thoughts would often drift to him, sometimes sexual and sometimes legitimately wondering what a relationship with the loud and obscene boy would be like. It were these thoughts that had driven the scorpion insane, he had never dwelled on a person like that before, his brooding artist's mind consumed with thoughts of the teen he had barely met.

"I don't know." He answered honestly. "It just happens." He voiced each word slowly and purposefully, as to keep from letting the habitual noise out. The nasal grunt was just as bred into his DNA as Kisame's overprotective nature. "I'm sorry." He murmured. "I know it's irritating."

Sasori wanted to bare his teeth and will the feelings he was having away, with rage and angry words. But he couldn't- he felt _bad_ for bringing up the brat's annoying habit and hurting his feelings. Why the hell was this happening? This isn't what was supposed to happen! He wanted to _study_ the blonde, _manipulate_ him and fuck him certainly, but these tender feelings weren't something he was used to, and he wasn't very fond of them. Even his ex, that he had been with for several years, hadn't invoked romanticism in him. Sure, Sasori had liked him well enough, the sex had been good, and living together had been convenient in many ways. But this sickening, warm, mushy feeling was just too much. "It's fine." He replied before he could swallow the words back down.

"It. . . Is?" Deidara asked softly, a little suprised at the sudden gentleness. Sasori hesitated. He didn't know what to say. It _was _fine. The blonde's enticingly good looks were more than enough to make up for any small defect such as that, and the scorpion was beginning to realize he was completely enthralled by the fact that despite his past and actions, Deidara looked nothing less than an angel.

Much to the man's relief, a perky little waitress came up to the table at that moment with the first part of the meal the redhead had ordered- salads full of fresh, crisp vegetables and greens and a creamy broccoli soup with shredded cheese sprinkled lightly over it. Deidara looked at it once, then smiled back up to Sasori. "Don't tell me you're a health nut." He teased.

"I wouldn't say that." He responded. "You must be eating something healthy, though, or you wouldn't be able to maintain that emaciated, scrawny figure." He picked up his fork and began eating.

Deidara began to protest at being emaciated or scrawny, but stopped himself as Sasori's arrogant little smirk. He narrowed his eyes a little, and picked up his fork as well. Hot as the redhead was, and as much as the middle Hoshigaki son was enchanted by him, Deidara couldn't shake the feeling Sasori was hiding something. Um hello, why would he want to date (Or have sex with, which he so obviously did) him if Sasori genuinely thought he was emaciated and was disgusted by his nasal-y grunting noise. "Actually, I eat a lot of junk food." He said simply, letting the insult go.

"With all that exercise, it must be so easy to burn calories and keep your figure."

"Well, you know how it is." Deidara retored cheekily. "I put a lot of. . . _Effort_ into my exercise. I take it really. . ." He paused momentarily, letting the spoon of soup enter his mouth and exit, his tongue flitting out to lick the last few drops away sinfully. "Seriously." He finished, and felt infinitely rewarded when Sasori's eyes flashed obvious desire and he nearly choked on his drink, recovering quickly. Deidara smiled sweetly before handing the sexy redhead a napkin. Maybe Sasori didn't know what he was getting himself into.

** Alright, so nothing about the two main characters in that chapter, but I can only give you what I can give you, you know? More soon, hopefully. This is my first attempt at writing anything in 2 years so constructive criticism would be great, but not too harsh please. I'm sensitive! Also, and you can include your answer to this is in your reviews, I'm not giving away any spoilers or hints, and if I do this depends on you guys' answers - How would you guys feel about an element of mpreg being elemented into this story? **

** Alright, thanks so much for reading, hit me with your best shot, and get ready for more updates hopefully in the near future ;3**


	21. When The Earth Folded In On Itself

**Alright, so this time let's try to actually include the main characters of the story. . . I get so caught up with my side characters(: My apologies. SasoDei is actually my 2nd favorite pairing from Naruto and I'm considering doing a fic featuring them (Not a sequel to this, unrelated) in the near future. . . But I am commited to finishing this fic. **

** On a side note, in regards to this chapter, I kind of felt like I needed to make clear; Orochimaru seemed the best character to be the main antagonist in this story, but that's not to say I don't really enjoy his character in the manga and anime (After all, he is one of the only Scorpio characters, like me. . . Also Sasori, of course, he is represented by the scorpion. . . We are a somber bunch to say the least lol, but I do at least try to keep upbeat). Anyway, the point is I do really like Orochimaru's personality and character, but I will do my best to portray him in a bad light for the sake of this story. . . Also, as his character has no definitive last name in the series, I have provided him with a random one. Happy reading(:**

Zabuza's internal clock woke him up less than a half hour after they had fallen asleep. Haku's head was still resting on his shoulder, his mouth loosely open in an 'o' shape, his eyes heavily lashed. He made tiny murmuring noises when he breathed, much to Zabuza's pleasure. His voice was so lovely and breathy. He shifted, lifting the boy off him and laying his limp body on the sofa, leaving him there to finish out his nap. He stared down at him for several moments, feeling a sort of tingle travel up his spine at the gorgeous specimen of a person laying beneath him.

Imagine, Zabuza Momochi the completely cruel, cold-blooded, and emotionally detached assassin had fallen for someone who could easily be described as a lamb. Fallen so hard that instead of taking the low road like he had at all other points in his life, he seemed to have doomed himself to a perpetual state of sexual tension. . . What a fucking state of affairs, he thought with half amusement, half annoyance. He let his eyes drift over the boy again, trying not to make mental notes of every section of Haku's body as if he were a used car in a lot that the man was considering purchasing.

Nice, classic face with big doe eyes and pretty, pouty lips. A long, elegant neck leading into slender shoulders and arms, followed by a lean torso. . . Hipbones that drive the man crazy with with thoughts of nibbling, licking or toying with them. Lithe thighs which he already knew were perfect for wrapping around him like a vice. He groaned quietly, grabbing a blanket off the arm of the sofa and throwing it haphazardly over the boy, to hide the sensual body that was ailing him.

To distract himself, he stalked over to the large bookcase which held the albums full of Haku's photographs. He plucked one off the shelf, took a seat in the armchair and began to thumb through it. . .

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Orochimaru let his gaze slide across the enormous and heavily ornated room, pleased with his life's work. The bedroom and what he often thought of as his harem had dark wood flooring, a tremendous canopy bed draped in silk jewel tones, and large fluffy pillows. He had state-of-the-art electronics, the latest model of television, which was currently tucked away in the large entertainment center bureau, the doors snapped tightly shut. He wasn't big on television, but it was part of his job to keep up with the news and the goings-on of the country. Expensive works of art were placed tastefully around the room, and in fact every room of the house. He had a pool (in a very discreet and impressive grotto), a sauna, an immaculate marble kitchen, a wraparound porch with voluminous columnns holding it up wrapping around his romantic, Victorian home. But what pleased him nearly as much as the material worth of his possesions were the steamy and seductive _toys, _as he often thought of them, that lived with him and served him in every way imaginable.

He had taken up the habit of collecting pretty boys the same way people got interested in collecting antique stamps or interesting postcards. There was just something so gratifiying about having someone openly and submissively obey your every whim. He housed them, clothed them, and paid them lavishly and in return they provided him with what he had always wanted - Accomodating and malleable young partners in which he could perform any act he could dream up, or have anything done for him, sexual or not.

Letting the thought sink in with a wicked grin, he let his hand slide over the perky ass currently contained in tight shorts of one of his particular favorites.

"Good morning, sir." The resolute and serious Ukon, so different from his rebellious and feisty twin, Sakon but both equally delicious in the snake's eyes. The young twin glanced back at his master with a conceited but questioning smile. "Is there. . . Something you wanted?"

"Not particularly." He answered, stretching leisurely, laying in his usual spot on his bed, though leaving enough room for the boy the join him. As expected, Ukon slithered down onto the mattress and began drawing sensuous little circles over the man's chest with his finger. "I'm just. . . Considering."

"Considering what?"

"Considering a new. . . Addition to my lovely home of vibrant, virile little nymphs."

Jealousy was not an emotion tolerated at this home, and wasn't something that made sense in Ukon's logical mind anyway. He truly _did_ want his master to be pleased and stay pleased, and if another option of pleasure was available to him, he was more than open to the idea. Tiring as it was, only he, his brother, and one other (Kabuto Yakushi) were permanent fixtures to this place. Any other boys that drifted in had been "let go" as Orochimaru put it. If they caused a fuss, they were slaughtered. But most of them were fine with it, happy to have made such a copious paycheck for the endeavor. Ukon assumed the snake had found flaws with these who had been 'let go', but he never did dwell on it. As long as the three of them remained in the man's favor, nothing else mattered.

He, and his brother had been inducted into this house of sin shortly after Kabuto had, and they were all friendly with each other, despite frequently having sex with the same man, often two, sometimes three at a time. They did all sincerely have fondness for the snake, but it wasn't as if any of them toyed with the notion of romanticism or monogamy. They were there to meet Orochimaru's needs, whatever they may have been, and cattiness, envy, or greed wasn't something that occured to them. They were all different in their ways, Ukon with his quiet and acquiescent way, Sakon with his bold and immodest defiance, and Kabuto was so smart and self-assured, he always knew just what to say and what to do.

"What sort of addition?" He inquired thoughtfully, beginning to replace the finger circles with soft kisses, trailing over the man's chest, neck, and shoulders.

"I met him awhile ago. . . I've been waiting for him to. . . Develop." He explained. "A very. . . Pristine type."

"Go on." He offered, but was pleased when the man's arousal began to show.

"He's quite the little. . . Lamb." Orochimaru eerily used the same term Zabuza had been thinking just a few hours before. "I have been watching. . . And waiting. He will be perfect. Just like you." He added, lifting his hips to allow the boy to slide his pants down and toss them off somewhere behind them.

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When Haku awoke an hour or so later, he breathed a sigh of contentment before using his hand to brush his silky hair back away from his face. Zabuza looked up from the photo album, his gaze fixed on Haku, who offered him a sweet, sheepish smile.

"Sorry." He expressed, and stifled a yawn. He rubbed his eyes slowly, then shifted, slinging his legs over the arm of the sofa, stretching lazily. "It came over me so suddenly, and I was so sleepy."

"It's fine. I rather enjoyed watching you." The assassin admitted, immensely enjoying Haku's light blush. "And of course, it did give me time to look over a few of these books."

"Oh!" Haku gasped, realizing what he was holding. He bounced up, and scrambled over, presumptuously plopping himself in the man's lap. "My photos!" He exclaimed happily. "Do you like them?"

"I love them." He replied honestly. "You're so talented, Haku." Beaming like a child who had been praised by an indulgent adult, the dark-eyed teen layed a smacking kiss on the man's cheek.

"That's so nice of you to say, Zabuza, but I'm just an amateur, really. I need a lot more practice." He said shyly. He glanced down at the page Zabuza was currently looking at. "These are some of the more recent ones I've taken."

Zabuza watched his face while the teen became lost in his thoughts, revolving around his photos. . . Where they had been taken, how they had been taken. . . He watched the sublime face grow stormy and conflicted almost as if the boy was trying hard to remember. His lips pursed, his brows furrowed together, he looked more adorable than usual.

Haku gasped, startled when Zabuza shut the book with a _snap_ and stood, letting it fall to the chair, but taking Haku's body with him. His mouth was covered by the man's, who only stopped drugging him with slow, hot kisses long enough to speak. "I see and hear you in my sleep, in my dreams. I ache for you, even when I'm with you." He kissed the teen roughly, with too much passion, traces of anger and frustration. His hands cupped the pretty face while his mouth plundered. "God, you're sweet." He murmured, letting his mouth roam from the lips to the cheeks to the ears, breathing in the scent of his hair.

Haku tilted his face up, embracing the warm caresses and strokes, and felt the man press him against the wall. The older man caged his angel's hips with his own strong thighs, his teeth nipping and nibbling on the soft mouth, his tongue slipping between them.

"Ah, Zabuza. . ." He let out a soft noise, part alarm and part delight as he was brutally and _delightfully_ used. "This is wonderful, but. . ." He trailed off and tried to clear his head but his lover's mouth skimmed back to his.

"But?"

"But. . . I think. . . We should. . . Maybe hold off on this kind of stuff for awhile." He stuttered through the words, blushing when Zabuza's lips left him and the man leaned back, giving him a questioning look. "You know. . . I think you were right. We just aren't ready for sex yet, and this kind of stuff is just too much for me when I know it isn't leading to anything."

Zabuza immediately set the boy's body down on his feet, and gave him a chaste kiss on the forehead. "If that's what you want. I understand."

"Really?" Haku asked with some hesitance. "I mean. . . I _love_ this part of our relationship. It's really. . . Intense." He bit his lower lip thoughtfully, his hands wringing together nervously. "But. . . Maybe for the next little while, we can. . . Get to know each other more." He suggested. Zabuza smiled a little, despite the slight sinking feeling in his stomach. Great, more sexual frustration.

"I'm completely fine with that." And with that, he leaned down and brushed a light kiss over the boy's lips. "What would you like to talk about?"

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Kisame lay quiet, still steeped in the warm afterglow of his weasel. The scent of Itachi's skin, heated with passion, rose up and mingled with the fragrance of floral candles in the air. He hummed in his throat and turned his face into the neck of his lover, which was still sheened with sweat and heat. "Good sex." He declared, not moving his body off the willowy body beneath him.

"Always." Itachi replied quietly, his arms roping up to hold the shark tightly and possessively.

They were both silent for a few minutes before Kisame spoke. "I am sorry, baby. We need to talk about this."

"There's nothing to talk about." The eldest Uchiha reminded him. "So I wanted you to come over last night, and you didn't. Nothing new. It's not a big deal."

"I mean about Haku."

"Well, you know what happened with that." Ita said briskly. Kisa rolled off him, but snuggled their bodies together.

"Meaning. . . ?"

"Meaning your brother is friends with my brother." He said simply.

Kisame frowned, thinking for a minute. "What does that have to do with anything?" He asked, a little surprised when Ita chuckled.

"Isn't it obvious? He saw us from inside, and he thought I was Sasuke. It has happened a lot of times. I guess as Sasuke has gotten older, his looks are favoring me more and more. It must make him pretty angry." He finished, shaking his head. Kisa frowned, he knew the subject of the raven was painful for his lover.

"I'm sorry." He repeated.

"I miss him." He admitted, thinking of his young brother. They had been so close, always, despite the 7 year age gap. "I. . ." He trailed off, shaking his head. "I didn't want it to be like this. After they died. . . He will never forgive me."

"You didn't do anything wrong, Ita." Kisame promised him, hugging him tightly. "It was an accident, unavoidable. You didn't know what was going to happen. You know that."

It was true, it hadn't been his fault, but that didn't change the fact that the raven believed it was. . .

He couldn't stop the assault of painful memories on his mind and willed them to go away but it didn't work, as it never did.

Itachi had been 19 when they had been killed, Sasuke 12. 19 was an age filled with partying and experimentation and craziness (If Deidara was any indication), so when Mikoto and Fugaku went out of town for one Fugaku's business trips, it wasn't out of the ordinary for Ita to get talked into (By who else but his chum, Kakashi Hatake) throwing one of his legendary parties at the Uchiha manor. It was a far cry from a detailed, organized soiree, one of those snowballing parties that friends of friends of friends somehow get invited to, and attend. There had easily been 65 people scattered in and throughout the mansion, unbearably loud music, drugs and alcohol being passed around as casually as slices of pizza. Itachi remembered tucking Sasuke into bed before the party, instructing him sternly to lock his bedroom door and not open it until morning. Sasuke had looked a little concerned, but had obeyed, as he had always obeyed his big brother.

Ita had been panicked to say the least, although his prideful stoic manner had disguised it well. Kakashi, of course, had recognized it and assured the weasel everything was fine, not to worry, this was _totally_ normal for a party.

So many people, milling in and out. On every floor and in every room of the house. Having sex in the bedrooms, smoking weed in the bathroom, he could vaguely remember someone baking something in the kitchen, which had turned out to be basically a culinary abortion.

At the trial for the murders of Fugaku and Mikoto, the supects had been Itachi's age, had attended the party. They had been amazed at being presented with more riches than they had ever seen in their lifes, had even hocked a few items before leaving the party. Unnoticable things like a silver candleholder set, a white gold diamond bracelet. . . But the locked safe in a back bedroom of the house had driven them mad with desire. If the rich bastards kept such expensive shit just laying around the house like idiots, imagine what kind of stuff needed to be kept in a safe.

Only a few weeks after the party (which had required the house to be frantically scrubbed clean and repaired by he, Kakashi, and Iruka before his parents came home), the two punks had broken in, in the dead of night with what they considered a detailed burglary plan. Of course, they were as amateur as they had come, and had made more than enough noise to wake the sleeping couple, Itachi himself and the young Sasuke. When the adults had gone down to check on what was going on, the criminals had panicked, sloppily shooting their handguns into the owners of the home. Panicked, they had fled the scene, and the bodies of their dead parents had been discovered by the two remaining Uchiha's.

Itachi remembered Sasuke's haunted eyes, and that no tears had formed. Neither of them had any idea that the killers had anything to do with the party, until the trial. . . At that point in time, Itachi remembered glancing over at his younger brother, the one remaining family member he had and had been utterly shocked at the look of pure and unadulterated hatred and loathing. There was no need for either of them to speak, the words didn't need to be said. They were clear as day in the young Uchiha's eyes- _I blame you._

Since then, their relationship had been more than strained. Since Sasuke had been so young, and Itachi old enough to take care of him, he had continued to raise him, and take care of him. Of course, in the 5 years that followed, even being the boy's legal guardian, he could count the number of words Sasuke had spoken to him on both hands. He had been a bitter, resentful teen. . . Until that blonde had started coming around. Itachi was no idiot, it was easy to tell the raven had strong feelings for him. And only a few months after they had began dating, the raven had moved out. Just like that. It hadn't been a surprise to Itachi, but the loneliness and pain had felt had only been able to be soothed by one person- the man he was currently lazing in bed with.

"Yes." He whispered. "But he doesn't. And he never will. I will never have a relationship with my younger brother as you have with yours."

"Itachi, it's-"

"I don't want to talk about it anymore." So they didn't.

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"I take it really. . . Seriously." Deidara finished, licking the spoon seductively before letting it drop back into the bowl. Ha, as different as Sasori was from any other guy he had spent time with, he was no exception as far as _one thing_ went. He wasn't immune to the powerful sexual prowess the blonde was so talented at emitting. When Sasori didn't speak for a moment, just stared in a sort of bewilderment, Deidara smiled sweetly. "Something wrong?"

Sasori scoffed, angry that the teen's obvious flirtations had affected him so blatantly. "I'm just kind of disgusted at the thought."

"That's too bad, un." He retorted. He couldn't believe he was acting this way to the _crazy_ sexy Sasori Akasuna! Sure, he was confident in his sexiness but jeez, his heart was basically threatening to beat itself out of his chest. "I'm, uh. . . Pretty sure, though. . . That I can change your mind."

The scorpion considered for a moment, then cocked an eyebrow. "Nice try, you hormonal little slut. You're just going to have to take a break from getting pounded by every male within a 5-mile range of you." He leaned forward, capturing the wide, blue orbs with his own copper ones. "Like I said, if another guys even _touches_ you, he's as good as dead."

Deidara looked visibly surprised, a wing of bright hair falling to wing over one eye. ". . . Un. . . You're not going to have sex with me? But you don't want anyone else to?"

"Are you having trouble understanding me? Do I need to repeat it in a way that _you _will understand, you spoiled valley girl wannabe?" He hissed, his eyes narrowed.

"No. I understand." He answered, feeling sweat threaten to prick out all over his skin. _Oh God_, it was so hot the way Sasori bossed him around! "So, is this, like. . . A long-term thing or. . .?" He practically breathed out. He, once again, felt like he was captured by the redhead's gaze, and was surprised he could even speak.

Sasori gave him a withering look before scoffing again. "Just eat and don't worry about what I'm going to do with you." He said casually.

"Easy for you to say." Deidara retored, but did what he was told, nonetheless.

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In a manor similar to the one Ita had been living in, far across town, Orochimaru was sitting at his kitchen table with what he considered 'hired help' - A hitman, in layman's terms, ironically enough, the same profession that Zabuza lent his hand to. He layed out his files and documents on the table, pushing them over to the man, who glanced up at him with beady, evil eyes.

"You want the Hoshigaki brat? The senator's son?" He questioned incredulously. The snake gave him a poisonous smile.

"I will _have_ the senator's son. And you will get him for me. He will never be traced back to here. And then he will be mine." Orochimaru chuckled, thinking only of porcelain skin and bright, heavily lashed eyes.

Shaking his head slightly, the hit man gave him a dollar amount.

** So I tried to get a little bit of everything in there, and I was pretty happy to be able to make reference to Sakon and Ukon, who I still consider to be 2 of the most interesting characters in the anime. Very cool, what with the body inhabiting and all that. **

** Hopefully everyone likes this chapter better than the last one. Review, as always!**


	22. Did Somebody Take Your Tongue?

** So I know people are probably getting annoyed the story is focusing a **_**lot**_** on side characters right now but that's because I'm trying to wrap this fic up and tie up all the loose ends. And I have to kind of resolve all side issues before tackling the main pairing's conclusion. . . Probably only a few chapters left on this one, then moving on to a new idea I have. . .**

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"Thanks for hanging out on such short notice." Sasuke said politely, smiling. Haku beamed excitedly.

"Oh no, thank you so much for coming to see me! I never really had friends before you and Naruto before." He added shyly.

"Well, we don't really have a lot of friends either." The raven admitted quietly,lowering his eyes. "I guess you and Zabuza are stuck with us now."

"I'm glad for it." The feminine-looking teenager giggled a little, his eyes sparkling. "Won't Naruto be home soon?"

"Yes." Sasuke nodded, standing gracefully, checking his watch. "I better get home. I just get lonely sometimes when he's working, you know?" He said, walking toward the door. Haku nodded in agreement and sympathy and gave Sasuke a small hug before waving him cheerfully out the door. He shut the large door behind his friend, whirling back around to face the living room, his eyes widening in surprise. Kisame was standing at the foot of the steps, seeming paralyzed, staring intently at the door. _Could it be. . . ? He looks just like him,_ the shark thought, his hands twitching in anticipation, completely unaware of his younger brother's shock.

"Oh!" Haku breathed a sigh of relief, smiling sheepishly. "I didn't see you there."

"Was that Sasuke Uchiha?" He questioned slowly. Haku tilted his head curiously, but nodded. Kisame bounded out the door without another word, leaving Haku looking stunned.

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Sasuke was nearly halway to his car before he heard the voice call him, his head lowered, focused on his cell screen where he was sending Naruto a text informing him he may be a few minutes late, and not to break anything. He snapped the phone shut, tucking it into the pocket of his snug jeans, flipping his bangs out of his eyes in a classic Sasuke move.

"Hey! Uchiha!" A deep, male voice that he did not recognize called out his surname, making him turn on his heel automatically. His dark brow arched a little at the stature of the man, but he felt a strange haunting sensation in his stomach. Something about this man was trying to trigger some memory, but he couldn't put his finger on it. He took a step back in retreat, not out of fear for what the man could physically do, but for fear of the emotion he was suddenly feeling and did not know why.

"What?" He snapped in annoyance, glaring defiantly, planting his black Converse into the ground brashly. Kisame grinned widely, for what reason Sasuke could not fathom. Many people were intimidated by the raven's icy demeanor but this man just seemed to find it amusing.

_His attitude sure is like Ita's too. . . _Kisa thought vaguely, still taking long strides toward the boy, until they were face-to-face. Well, more like face-to-chest, seeing as Kisa was several inches taller than the youngest Uchiha. "Do you know who I am?" He asked quietly, his eyes searching the raven's face for any sign of recognition or memory. "I know. It's been a long time." The shark admitted, with more than a bit of regret in his voice. Sasuke paused a moment, and began to shake his head, before he took a sharp intake of breath. It _was_ coming back to him.

_Itachi's stupid friends had convinced him to have a party, as usual whenever his parents went out of town. . . He was beginning to detest the times they left. Always stuck in his room while all the older teenagers drank and fucked and smoked. He knew what they were doing! Itachi thought he was so young and dumb, as always. _

_ "You're gonna shut him in his room again?" Kisame asked Itachi quietly, brushing a kiss over the young weasel's forehead intimately, despite the fact that there were already several people milling in and out with kegs and speaker sets. People would start coming in about an hour, and that was when little Sasuke would have to go upstairs to bed. They both glanced over to the younger boy, who was glaring at the older people walking in and out. _

_ "What do you expect me to do?" Itachi retorted. "Let him run around while people are fucking on the floor and couch?" _

_ "He's old enough." _

_ "He's 12." Itachi said flatly. Kisame smiled sheepishly, recognizing defeat. He and Itachi had only been dating about 6 months at this point, and he had taken a bit of amicable jeering from his friends due to the fact that he, a senior, was dating Uchiha, a freshman, but it wasn't hard to see why, since Itachi was arguably the most attractive person, male or female at the high school they attended. When they had started dating, people were surprised, to say the least. The super-rich athletic senior falling for the equally rich, unpopular goth-like freshman? Seemed like something out of a movie. But who would poke fun? Kisame would crush anyone who dared. _

_ "Well, look at him. He's miserable. He hates it." _

_ "What do you want me to do? I can't cancel. Everyone is already on their way." _

_ "Let me hang out with him." Kisame offered. Itachi gave him a strange look. "I mean it." He laughed a little at his boyfriend's expression. "I'm pretty good with kids. I have 2 brothers about his age, remember? And you know, I'm over this whole scene anyway. I hate all the people that comes to these." He admitted, talking about the 'in-crowd' of their high school. _

_ "You're the one they come to see me. They all hate me for dating you." Itachi hissed, glaring. _

_ "Well, you have to stay and play hostess with 'Kashi now. Let me take him out to the backyard and we'll play basketball or board games or something until everyone leaves. I'm sure he would have a better time with me than shut up in his 'cage'." Kisame teased, and itachi sighed softly. _

_ "Well, if you're sure you don't mind. He's. . . Well, he's not always friendly." _

_ "But I made you like me." The shark argued smoothly, leaving the weasel frowning slightly. He practically glided over his lover's younger sibling, and smiled at him encouragingly. "Hey, so I had this pretty cool idea." He started but was interrupted by the boy._

_ "Yeah, I can hear both of you. You're only across a room, it's not like there is an invisible soundproof forcefield between the couch and table." He said witheringly, hating when people talked about him like he wasn't there. Kisame paused for a moment, his mouth widening in a smile. "I don't need your pity." _

_ "Well, that's good since I don't have any for you." He answered honestly, taking a seat on the couch beside the grouchy boy, so they were on the same level._

_ "Just because you're nice to me doesn't mean my brother's going to let you in his pants any quicker." He retorted, flopping his head down grumpily on the arm of the couch. Kisame nearly choked from keeping in his laughter._

_ "Sasuke!" Itachi snapped, a light flush spreading across his face. "Can you please act like a normal little boy instead of an evil little alien?" _

_ "I'm not a little boy!" He growled. "I'm about to be a teenager! God!" He snarled, flying to his feet, and stomping out the back door, slamming it shut, leaving Itachi fuming. _

_ "Little brat." He scowled, glaring at his boyfriend. "Great plan." He said sarcastically. "You're wonderful with children." _

_ "I'm still working on it." Kisame said defensively, but he was smiling as he followed the younger Uchiha out the door after planting a kiss on the elder's lips. _

_ He had found Sasuke curled up, sulking in a chair on the deck. "Hey." He tried again, laying a hand on the boy's shoulder, giving him a serious look in his eyes. "You don't have to get so mad at him. He's just trying to help." _

_ "But I'm not a kid!" Sasuke had cried in childish anguish. When he turned to face the older man, his eyes had been brimming with tears. A little boy's tears was not something he had wanted to face this night, but it wasn't really anything new for him. Deidara and Haku squabbled fairly frequently, and it most likely ended in one of them crying, usually Haku, the far more sensitive one. _

_ "Definitely not." Kisame said seriously, pulling up a seat beside him. _

_ "I'm tired of everyone calling me a kid! Itachi treats me like a baby! I go to school every day, I do my homework, I don't say bad words! What do I need to do?" He sniffled, his childish pride not wanting the tears to fall. "I'm sick of getting in his way all the time." He admitted. Kisame was silent for a moment, waiting for him to say something else. "If it wasn't for me, he could do whatever he wants, but he has to watch me all the time because they're gone. . . Itachi must hate me!" He finally let the slippery knot of control go, and burst into tears, covering his face with his hands._

_ "Sasuke." Not really knowing what else to do, Kisa thought back to the times when Haku was uncontrollably upset, bawling. He leaned forward, letting his instinct guide him. "You don't really think that, do you?" He wrapped a muscled arm around thin, bony shoulders, only slightly suprised when the raven's face turned into his shoulder, sobbing into it, no longer concerned about pride, just in getting rid of the bad feelings. "You know Ita loves you more than anything." _

_ "I just make everything worse for him!" _

_ "Maybe if you had a little brother, you'd understand why you don't make everything worse for him." The shark mused, not at all perturbed by wet, sloppy tears soaking through his clothes. He patted the younger Uchiha's shoulder clumsily. "It's going to be okay for you, Sasuke." He said softly, not knowing where the words had come from. The raven's head lifted, his eyes red-rimmed and puffy, still leaking. The words seemed to affect him physically, as a tiny smile graced his lips. _

_ It had taken awhile to break down the boy's defensive barriers, but within a few hours, the child was chatting happily and laughing at the senior's jokes. When Sasuke had tentatively asked Kisame why he was dating Itachi, he had seemed satisified with the man's answer of "Because he is everything I want in a partner.", and when the shark had challenged the raven to a friendly game of basketball, he had expected to take it easy on the kid to build up his confidence but quickly realized the speed and skill of the boy was enough to keep him on his toes._

_ They had talked and played until the sun had come up, at which point Sasuke's eyelids were drooping. Kisame had helped him up to bed (But didn't carry him, careful not to insult the boy's pride by suggesting him childish enough to carry), just as the party was ending. _

_ Sasuke had seen Kisame a few times after that, at the house, and Itachi seemed to be becoming rather smitten, even in the young eyes of Sasuke. He didn't really understand love or sex yet, but it was obvious that something important was going on with the shark and weasel. A strange envy he did not recognize yet had bloomed in his chest a few times at the sight of them together, his child's mind subconciously hoping he had that one day. _

_ Shortly after that was when __**it**__ had happened. . . The accident, with his parents. When Itachi had been so irresponsible. _

Sasuke's eyes were wide, his lower lip quivered once, slightly. "Kisa." He whispered, and in that moment, they were back to that time, when Kisame had been stuck between the title of teenager and man, and when Sasuke had been stuck between the title of child and teenager, but had forged a sincere friendship. When he looked back later on this moment, Sasuke could have sworn he heard his former, pre-pubescent voice come out of his mouth. "I do remember."

Kisame stuck his hands in his pockets, trying to hide his emotions, faking a casual smile. Itachi missed this boy, and so did he. He had always had a fondness for the little Uchiha, for his brash defiance and sharp wit. "How have you been?" He asked, thinking of the nights Itachi had cried, wishing he could take back what had happened.

"I'm engaged." He answered shortly, lowering his eyes to hide the tears. "I'm. . . Happy." He answered, squeezing his eyes shut, letting his bangs fall over them. He hadn't felt like this before, this sharp, deep regret in his chest. It had been so easy to blame Itachi for everything when hadn't had to look into his eyes, face him. And he had left, at the first chance he had gotten, in with the blonde kitsune. But looking at Kisame now, his eyes with their sincere hurt and genuine love. . . He remembered that look. He remembered the days when he had thought of the shark as a big brother too.

"I always knew you'd make someone very happy. You're very beautiful, you know." The shark said, swallowing a lump in his throat. Sasuke scoffed slightly, embarrassed, crossing his arms a little. How could he have blamed Itachi? Itachi had loved him, had let him hang out with he and Kisa, had let him on his feelings for the shark. He remembered when Itachi had stumbled through 'the talk' with him. It had been awkward, for both of them, but necessary. Their parents had always been so busy. . . The weasel had been a brother, mother, and father to him, sacrificing many things to devote time and attention to his younger brother.

"He's the beautiful model, not me." Sasuke raised his head, slightly surprised at the words that had come out of him. He hadn't spoken about Itachi, tried not to think about him for such a long time. It was all too easy for Kisame to see the shining wetness in the large, dark eyes.

"He misses you so much."

"Don't say that!" Sasuke cried out suddenly. He shook his head as if to clear it. "I don't want to know, I don't care! It's his fault they're gone!" He forced out, letting the tears began to slip down his cheeks. "It's his fault." He repeated, as if he were trying to convince himself, his breath catching in his throat. He was dizzy suddenly, too dizzy. Like his thoughts had become too heavy for his head. He gazed down at the ground, and watched it fly up to meet him- He was fainting.

Kisame lunged forward, catching the boy easily, his now sopping wet face pressed against the man's tshirt. Sasuke's hand clutched the shark's shoulder, to push himself away but before he could, the man's strong arms had somewhat awkwardly wrapped around his shoulders, holding him there. "It's going to be okay for you, Sasuke." He repeated quietly but fiercely, remembering the night they had spent together all those years ago.

"It wasn't his fault." Sasuke wept, his voice coming out hoarse. What had he done? All these years, he had needed someone to blame. And that blame had fallen on Itachi's shoulders, just like taking care of the boy had fallen on his shoulders. "I'm so sorry, Kisa." He sobbed, and as the tears flowed out of him, sliding down his cheekbones and plopping on the ground and the cloth of the shark's shirt, it was if his negative feelings toward the weasel were being expelled too.

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Haku watched from the window in absolute amazement. He was pretty sure he had witnessed some kind of emotional revelation. He peered through the glass as his older brother tumbled Sasuke into the passenger seat of Sasuke's car, he himself getting in the driver's seat. He supposed Kisa was taking him home. . .

He shifted guiltily, remembering the man who had looked like Sasuke. . . The one Kisame was in love with.

"Well that's kind of odd." Zabuza deadpanned and for the second time that day, Haku gasped out loud.

"Why is everyone sneaking up on me today?" He accused, frowning.

"You were too busy spying to notice me." Zabuza teased slightly, closing the curtain as the car in the driveway travelled away.

Haku blushed. "I wasn't spying!" He retorted hotly. "I was just. . . Sasuke was crying. Did you see?"

"I saw." Zabuza shrugged. "I don't pretend to understand other people. I have enough on my plate trying to understand _you_." He said pointedly.

"What's there to understand?" Haku said quietly, peering at the bodyguard through thick lashes. "I'm simple."

"Ha!" Zabuza snorted. "You're anything but simple. You're a wealthy, beautiful, crossdressing teenager who claims to be in love with a rugged, destitute assassin who has nothing to offer you and who happens to be your personal bodyguard."

"I don't claim anything." He answered. "It's just the truth." He hesitated, glancing around the entrance room. "I am in love with you, Zabuza. It took me no time at all to realize that."

"That still doesn't make it make any sense."

"It doesn't have to." Haku whispered, slipping his small hand into the larger, calloused one. "You just have to love me back."

"I have no choice." Zabuza admitted, staring down into that beautiful face.

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Deidara's bright blue eyes travelled appreciatively up the body of his current date, as they made their way back to his car, from the scuffed military-style combat boots, up the well-fitting jeans with the tears in knees, all the way up the well-formed torso and arms, to the handsome face with the messy red hair. _Firecrotch_, his mind quipped at him, making him smile. Funny he hadn't thought of that before.

"We're going back to my house." Sasori informed the blonde, leaving no room for argument or debate, starting up the car. When the scorpion's phone began buzzing in his jacket pocket for the third or fourth time, he pulled it out, peeking at the name of the caller on the screen. Upon seeing it, he rolled his eyes to the ceiling, and shoved it back in his pocket.

"So, Sasori." Deidara began, buckling the seatbelt over his chest, gazing slyly over at him. "Are your pubes red, too?"

"Of course." He replied flatly, their eyes meeting hotly. "Aren't yours blonde?"

"I don't have any." Deidara answered smoothly, twirling a lock of hair around his clever finger.

Sasori's fingers tightened on the wheel for a milisecond before relaxing, something that most people wouldn't have noticed, but Deidara was an expert on gauging when a guy desired him. And he knew the scorpion was all but drooling for him. "Well, lucky for you, I won't mind fucking a thirteen-year-old." He gave Deidara a sarcastic smile, before plastering his eyes back on the road.

"I don't think you'll be thinking of any thirteen-year-old when we're fucking, un. . . I know I'll be able to keep all your attention on me, and only me."

"I bet." Sasori muttered under his breath, not at all comfortable with the turn this date had taken. When had he lost control and become the prey?

He had sped home, whipping around sharp turns, and cutting in front of cars as he pleased. Amidst the chorus of angry yells and honking horns, Sasori hardly seemed to notice. He seemed intent on his destination; Home.

When they parked at a modest house in a small and seemingly quiet neighborhood, Deidara was a little surprised. "Parents, roommates?" He questioned, getting out of the car and shutting the door.

"Just me." Sasori answered, walking around the car to meet the blonde. He leaned forward, their faces just inches apart, immensely enjoying the blonde's catchy little sigh, his body bending submissively, turning his pretty pink lips up. The redhead's arms caged Deidara in, trapping him between the car and his own tough, rangy body. If he were to lean forward just another few inches, their bodies would be flush together, lined up perfectly together.

He brought his lips forward, so his breath was hot and mingled with the blonde's as he spoke. "Did you want to come in or something?"

Deidara's blood level was through the roof, although he felt it had all drained from his head to a definite point below his waist. His cheeks were flushed pink, his eyes wide and pleading. He felt Sasori's thumb brush against his lower lip, the rough tip contrasting sharply with his soft mouth. _God, just lean forward and fucking do it!_ He wanted to scream, but he seemed to have lost the ability to speak. He was paralyzed once again in the sexy-beam of the scorpion.

"Cat got your tongue?" Sasori asked oddly, pulling his body back, arching a brow, but inwardly he was smiling cockily. The blonde could fancy himself some seasoned flirt all he wanted but in moments like this, it was painfully obvious who was really the predator and the prey. The hunter. The master.

"N-no. Coffee sounds great, un." He tried to answer smoothly, but the stutter gave it away, deepening his blush. He let the redheard take his hand, leading him into the door, closing it behind them.

He sat at the small oakwood table, glancing around the equally small kitchen curiously as Sasori made coffee. Small, but clean. A little cluttered maybe, but it had a certain charm, especially since Sasori's art was scattered haphazardly around. Paintings, sculptures. . . They were really good, too. The puppets were a little creepy, but they were so well-made. . . Sasori was so talented. Deidara stared incredulously as Sasori's cellphone began vibrating again, but this time when the man glanced at the caller, he scowled, yanked a drawer open, threw the phone in, and slammed the door shut. Before the blue-eyed male could ask what was going on with the phone, Sasori turned.

"Cream and sugar?" The artist asked softly, pouring the black liquid into matching cups and taking a seat across from the blonde. When Deidara nodded, he sat a container of milk and a little pot of sugar in front of the teen. "I take mine black." He said, raising a brow as the blonde slopped several large spoonfuls of sugar crystals and a _very _generous splash of milk into the cup, seeming satisfied.

"Quite a sweet tooth you have there. You sure have a lot of vices." Sasori pointed out, hating the fact that he found it so endearing. God, why was his skin just as bright and beautiful and inviting as the cream?

"Maybe so." Deidara admitted, licking his lips after taking a sip. "But what about you, un? Don't you have any?"

"I have this thing I like to do, where I lure attention-starved blondes into my house, rape them until pass out, kill them, and then cut their body up so nobody can ever identify them."

Deidara visibly blanched for a moment, before he caught Sasori's small smile. "I'm, uh, hoping you'll make an exception for me. I'd be more than happy to dye my hair." He joked a little.

"Don't." Sasori said quickly, before he could stop himself, and infuriatingly felt heat rise to his own cheeks.

"Why not?" Deidara asked slowly, biting his lip to hide his own grin. Sasori heaved a sigh. _Honesty time. _

"It's so sexy." He admitted gruffly, not quite meeting the blue orbs.

"You really think so?" Deidara asked softly, tucking a strand behind his ear.

"Would I have cleaned up your puke if I didn't?" He asked matter-of-factly. The blonde shrugged.

"I guess it is an awful lot of trouble." Deidara admitted, remembering Sasori's question to him that night; _Why are you so obsessed with me?_ He knew, of course, that the blonde had a pathetic crush on him. "I was so embarrassed. . ." He confessed, looking down.

There was no more arrogance, no more cockiness, no more battling for dominance and being the hunter or hunted. . . Just two people that really liked each other, despite one of them's attempts to hide his true feelings.

"I was nervous too, you know." Sasori said after awhile, clearing his throat at Deidara's stunned look. "You're just so. . . Stunning." He decided on the word.

"What? Me!?" Deidara laughed into his coffee, shaking his head. "I didn't think I had a chance with you, un. . . I mean. . . I know you and Kai (Author's note; Original character, not important enough to incorporate an actual character, sorry for the confusion) had just broken up, and, un. . . I didn't think you would want someone like me."

"How could I not? Everyone wants you."

Deidara shook his head. "Everyone wants to fuck me. You're not interested in that."

"I wouldn't say that." The scorpion argued quickly. "I'm definitely interested, but. . . You're more than that. I just like watching you. You're so. . . Full of energy, and. . . " He trailed off, the look in Deidara's eyes was full of trust and acceptance.

"Sasori, you're the most attractive person I've ever met." He smiled sweetly again. "When you were flirting with my brother to make me jealous. . . It worked. I wanted to throttle him."

"That wasn't really necessary. Haku is pretty, but nothing compared to what I see in you."

They were both silent for a few minutes, their eyes locked across the table. Sasori shifted, standing. "I guess I should, uh. . . Take you home now."

"Yeah." Deidara agreed, standing as well. He pushed his chair back and attempted to squeeze by the scorpion, while he was lifting his leather jacket off the back of the chair. They both turned at the exact simultaneous moment, their firm bodies pressed flush against each other at last. Both their eyes flashed dangerously as the contact seemed to spark between them, their skin instantly heating.

"Fuck it." Sasori muttered, shaking his head before grabbing the blonde's shoulders hastily, jerking their bodies closer together, taking his mouth roughly.

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** So there you have it. . . I actually already have about half of the next chapter already typed up, because I kept typing on this one but then I realized it was getting a little lengthy so I cut Sasori and Deidara's part right in the middle. Suspense coming, but I don't wanna give any spoilers!**

** Also, yeah, the Itachi/Kisame/Sasuke thing is a little too emotional and everything, but it is a fanfiction, what do you expect? Everything is magnified 1000x, lol. . . Please review, I would really appreciate and feel free to send any suggestions, questions, anything to me in a private message, I like talking(: **


	23. I Lost My Fear Of Falling

**I don't have anything to say before this chapter, except you perverts are finally going to get what you want(: **

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"Haku." Zabuza began slowly, seeming to choose his words carefully. He looked troubled. The boy looked up instantly from the thin paperback book he had been thumbing through, eyes bright and attentive. They had headed back up to Zabuza's room after the scene with Sasuke and Kisame, Haku still worried and more than a little curious about what was going on with those two. "Do you remember when you asked me if it bothered me so much that you weren't 18?"

Haku made a noise of assent in his throat, nodding once. "You told me it did."

"And you told me you didn't understand the difference, you would still be the same person even after your 18th birthday."

"Yes. It's true." He reiterated, but frowned slightly. What was the man getting at?

"I know that you're right." He agreed, his eyes lowering to the ground before closing completely, his fingers pinching the bridge of his nose in a sign of discomfort. He opened his mouth to speak again, but closed it on a grimace. "Never mind."

Haku gawked, his eyes wide with hurt. "No!" He protested loudly. "Please Zabuza, I want you to open up to me."

"It's not something you would want to hear." He deadpanned.

"A thought from your mind would never be something I wouldn't want to hear." He promised, taking the man's large hands with his smaller ones.

The bodyguard hesitated a little, trying to pull his hands back. "For such a delicate thing, you truly have an iron grip." His mind fleetingly drifted to the time's when Haku's slim thighs had locked like a vice around his waist or hips. It was true, he _was_ suprisingly strong and tactile for such a fragile, doll-like appearance. Zabuza wasn't sure if he found that disturbing or comforting.

"I'm not as delicate as you think." The teen glowered, his sepia eyes shooting daggers into the obsidian orbs of the older man. "I've been through some things too, you know." And although they both knew too well the man could have taken his hands back at any point, they stayed where they were; locked with Haku's.

"I'm not afraid of having sex with you as a 17-year-old. I'm afraid of having sex with you, period."

Haku tilted his head back, completely at a loss for words. If Zabuza had told him he was planning on taking a vacation to Hell, it wouldn't have been less expected.

"Why?" Was all he could voice, shaking his head slightly. "It's not. . . You know. . . Me, is it? Are you worried it won't be any good?"

Zabuza laughed without humor, shaking his head, his eyes flat and dull. "It isn't that. Our sexual chemistry is a pretty good indication of how it will be."

"Then what could it possibly be?" He wondered, squeezing the rough hands with his own soft ones. As always, their distinct contrasts sent a pleasurable chill up Zabuza's spine. Black and white, good and evil, beautiful and ugly. He knew in some dim corner of his mind that if Haku knew he thought of them that way, as beautiful and ugly, he would whine at the comparison.

"This isn't easy for me to say."

"Nothing seems easy for you to say." The boy sighed, but resisted the urge to make any more physical contact to soothe or comfort.

"I wonder if it will change you." He finally relented, letting the words come out, eyeing Haku apprehensively. When the boy didn't speak, he heaved a sigh. "You're so pure and perfect, you-"

Haku jerked his hands back, tucking them under his legs so the man could not grab them and force him to hold hands, his face stormy and agitated in an instant. Mood swings, Zabuza's inner thought process suggested, which only reminded him that Haku was a teenager, with raging hormones, which in turn reminded him he was in love with a teenager. Damn it.

"Stop saying that, I'm so tired of hearing it!" He spat out. "What makes _me_ so perfect?"

Zabuza's eyes narrowed intensely, his frown becoming a scowl. "Compared to scum like me, you're practically Christ's disciple. Your heart bleeds for every living thing on this Earth. . . And not only is your mind and heart pure, your body is-"

"Being a virgin doesn't define who I am, or even my personality. I am what I am, no matter if your _dick_ has been in me or not!" He finished, his chest panting with the effort of his words.

Zabuza visibly winced at the choice of words, and the boy's anger. Like he had said, Haku wouldn't want to hear it.

"You're so ridiculous, Zabuza!" He snapped, his eyes holding the look of absolute outrage. "I know you think of me as some kind of symbol, but you're putting me on a pedestal I can never live up to!" He huffed a breath, glaring at the ceiling.

They were both silent after that for awhile, Haku's temper slowly ebbing away to a dull irritation. He eyed the man apprehensively, who looked conflicted, to say the least. He looked as if he were in physical pain. Haku knew there was no way he could convince the brown-haired man, with words.

"I will prove it to you." Haku whispered, his voice barely audible. Zabuza glanced back up at him.

"What did you say?"

"I said I'll prove it to you." He repeated louder, gaining slightly more confidence when the assassin's brow furrowed together in an attempt to understand. He grasped the hem of his shirt, pulling it over his head, and letting it slither to the floor. Before Zabuza could protest, he slinked over to the man's bedroom door, clicking the lock silently into place. "Don't even try to stop me, Zabuza." He breathed, his eyes serious, mouth set in a grim line.

"You've got to be kidding me." He retorted flatly, waiting for the boy to come to his senses. His eyes widened and he began to protest when the gorgeous teenager unbuttoned his jeans, slipping them down his legs. "Haku, what are you-"

"Shut up!" The words tumbled out of his mouth before he could stop them, leaving them both shocked. A blush rose to the boy's cheeks, but his eyes remained determined, his body poised in an attack pose.

"Did you really just tell me to shut up?" He growled. What the Hell was Haku's problem? He was acting like some kind of psycho all of a sudden. Without giving the man an answer, Haku unceremoniously peeled his last remaining piece of clothing, his underwear, down his legs, letting them fall to the small pile now on the man's floor.

"Yes." He affirmed, clenching his fists to avoid covering himself, insecurites and crippling shyness, wanting to solidify the confident facade. "You don't need to talk. You just need to hush and let me show you what I want."

"I can see what you want."

"Then. . . I guess I don't need to explain it to you." His walk to the bed was so slow, Zabuza could have almost sworn he was gliding across the carpeted floor. He climbed onto the bed at an agonizing pace, his eyes hot. He straddled the man's hips, his hands splayed on the strong chest and leaned forward, their faces nearly touching. "Are you going to deny me?" His hair fell forward, brushing the sides of the bodyguard's face like thick feathers.

Zabuza shook his head wordlessly, his heartbeat pounding in his head like a slow drum beat. His hands lifted gripping Haku's face gently, his rough thumbs sliding across the full bottom lip of his young lover. "I can't deny you anything, Haku. Not anymore."

"You'll give me everything?"

"Everything."

"I. . . " Haku trailed off, willing his doubts and self-doubt away forcibly. "I just want to get this over with. I want to show you that it will be the same between us, after sex. I will always love you." He whispered.

Zabuza stared into his eyes for what seemed like the longest time, before taking a deep breath and speaking. "I will love you, no matter what. I swear to you, Haku, nobody could ever feel like I feel for you, for this relationship."

"I know it's hard for you to say things like that." The teen retorted, snuggling against the man's chest, his face nuzzling the strong neck and shoulder. Zabuza's eyes glanced down at the lean, bare body on him, sending a pulse of desire streaking down his own body.

"I know it's hard for you to fake such confidence." He answered, making Haku smile sheepishly, his eyes closing dreamily, his cheeks pink.

"I'm so nervous." He admitted, tilting his head. "But I don't want you to stop. Promise me." He said adamantly, pushing down on the man's chest firmly.

"I promise I will give you whatever you want."

"I want you to take your clothes off now." Haku suggested, face tilting down to their bodies. He felt a little exposed, considering he was completely naked and Zabuza was completely clothed, although it was kind of erotic. . .

Without another word, the man was shed of his cotton shirt and worn denim jeans, his boxers the only piece of clothing keeping Haku from what he wanted. Before the boy could protest, Zabuza took him into his arms and kissed him, their bodies entwined together on the large mattress. His lips were demanding, devouring Haku's by crushing and then nibbling, the tip of his tongue barely fluttering against that sweet mouth. The pretty brunette managed a soft sigh before the man's strong tongue unhesitatingly laved every part of his mouth, finding what seemed like to Zabuza was a wellspring of love and tenderness and absolute acceptance, so unlike the ugly world he had grown up in. His lips were gentle, but Haku's unrelenting acceptance of them aroused Zabuza in more ways than he could express, the kisses becoming more fiercely insistent.

"Zabuza, I need you." He breathed out, his hands apprehensively skimming across tough abs and pectorals, immensely appreciating the man's muscles bunching and releasing beneath his touch.

With those words humming like a mantra in his head, the bodyguard rose over the slim, pale body, his hands stroking and brushing assertively and dominantly while his mouth swallowed the tiny moans and gasps that Haku was just beginning to emit.

"Are you sure about this?" He questioned again, raising up, trying to read the boy's flushed face, eyes clouded and dreamy with love and lust. "Because if you aren't, we. . . Need to stop now. I don't think I could if we go any farther." He admitted, eyes lowering a little in embarrassment.

"I'm so sure." Haku swore, arching his body up a little, reminding Zabuza of the task at hand.

"Well. . . If you're sure. . . I, uh. . . I don't, you know. . . " Zabuza heaved a sigh before continuing, immensely annoyed with his own stuttering and nervousness. He had never felt such uncertainty before. . . It was like torture for the usually self-assured man. "I don't have anything with me."

"Meaning?" Haku murmured softly, his fingertips becoming bolder, stroking just under the waistband of the man's boxers, sending tiny, eager pulses soaring.

"I don't have condoms or you know. . . Anything."

"Do we really need one? I don't have anything for you to catch." Haku paused, hesitating. "Do you. . . Have anything?"

"No. But what about, you know. . . We need oil or lube or something. Otherwise, this is going to be terrible for you." He asserted firmly. "I haven't had sex in a few years. I haven't needed anything like that." He explained to the boy's questioning eyes.

"Well I certainly don't have anything like-" He stopped midsentence. "Dara has some, I'm sure."

"Well, that doesn't do me any favors." Zabuza growled pointedly, feeling a spark of annoyance. It was getting increasingly difficult to hold this conversation while the boy's fingers were stroking him everywhere except where his body was practically begging. "He and Kisame are gone."

"Go to his room and get it. I know he won't mind."

"Me!? Why don't you go? He's your brother."

"I'm already naked."

Zabuza snarled, resignedly. He snatched his jeans up off the floor, yanking them up and buttoning them carelessly. He stalked to the door, opening it slowly, peering out to make sure there were no butlers or maids lurking about. He rushed out, closing it softly behind him.

Deidara's room was a mess. His eyes traveled unconcernedly over the piles of clothing and papers. His eyes landed on the dresser, which was littered with pots and tubes and bottles of lotions, creams, moisturizers, and other things. His eyes narrowed, his mouth in a frown. None of this was what he was really looking for. He slinked to the bedside table, which was difficult enough while sporting a full erection, opening the drawer, eyeing the contents unabashedly. There must have been at least 15 condoms, in various brands and styles, and finally what the man was looking for, a little bottle of clear liquid lubricant. _Thank God for Deidara, _He thought gratefully, making a mental note to thank the middle brother one day, when he and Haku's relationship was out in the open.

On his way back to his own room, he reflected on the fact that Deidara seemed to have an extremely active sex life, while Haku remained completely a virgin, wondering how nobody seemed to know about the promiscuities of the blonde. He decided the maids and butlers must not be as observant as he had once worried over.

When he opened the door, he closed it behind him instantly, clicking the lock back into place, and tearing his jeans back off, this time taking the boxers with them. He climbed back up onto the bed, continuing where he left off, setting the bottle beside them.

"Wait, wait." Haku protested against the man's rough, beseeching mouth, shaking his head. "I want to see your body." He confessed, smiling a little at the man's expression.

"You've seen it."

"But it's so. . . Fascinating." He struggled for the word, his fingers back to drawing arousing little designs on the man's abs and groin, feather-soft touches that made Zabuza want to howl in frustration. The body guard oblingingly leaned back for the boy's hungry eyes, trying not to give in to vanity and flex any of his muscles. "Your body really is perfect."

"Even the scars?" He mused, already knowing what the boy would say.

"I love them." He promised. He glanced down at his own fingers, which were now only centimeters away from the man's fully aroused cock. Taking a small intake of breath, he shifted his hands, grippping the thick arousal gingerly, the low noise in the man's throat giving him a huge surge of confidence. Before he could begin stroking the heated flesh, Zabuza pushed him down, his back hitting the bed softly, his eyes wide, his lips instantly covered once again.

When Zabuza's questing fingers found his rosy nipple, the boy's back arched a little off the bed, unconsciously seeking more contact. Now that his nerves and anxiety had begun to wear off, Haku realized it wasn't only his mind and heart that wanted this coupling; His body was burning up for it. All the times he had been left unsatisifed by the man's hot, wicked kisses and bold touches, all of that was over. He could finally lay back and let pleasure take him over.

His fingers brashly stroked and seduced the sensitive areas until he felt the boy practically quivering in passion. Zabuza's mouth inched downward, dropping light, quick kisses down the teenager's neck and chest before gently suckling one of the rosy pearls, his tongue expertly flicking the stiff bud. This treatment, which left Haku gasping, continued for several more minutes until the boy moaned out loud.

"Zabuza." The name was a shameless plead, which the man could not resist but heed. He agreeably skimmed his mouth down leaving a trail of sweet kisses down the brunette's abdomen, licking and nuzzling the shallow navel. His mind flashed back to the first time he had seen Haku's body, when the boy had been changing into his pajamas, remembering the fleeting vision he had. At the time, the fantasy had left him feeling guilty and unsure, but now it just sent a wave of arousal over him. He laved the flat stomach, the tip of his tongue toying seductively with the bellybutton, lips sliding over to cruise over hipbones, leaving Haku nearly delirious. His nimble fingers tangled in the man's short hair, slender body arching once again. "Please." He imposed once again.

Zabuza lined their bodies up, anchoring himself on his forearms, lining their slick, heated bodies up together so that their stiff cocks grinded together. "Za-ah. . . " Haku couldn't finish, as he threw his head back, his hips bucking in desperation. "It feels so good."

Zabuza smirked up at his face. The boy was practically lost in passion and desire. . . He was so responsive, each light touch sending him spiralling into pleasure. Mentally, he wanted to spend the rest of his life in this extended state of foreplay, listening to Haku's sweet moans, but physically. . .

"Haku, if we wait much longer. . ."

"Don't wait. Just do it. I'm ready." Locking his fingers behind the man's neck, Haku implored him with a sustained pulling motion. "I want to be yours."

The words sent a shock wave down his body, from the top of his head to his toes, leaving him stunned. "Oh, Haku, you're already mine, and you know it." Regardless of his argument, he grasped the bottle of clear gel in his hand, and knelt between the boy's thighs.

"Tell me if it starts to hurt, I'll be more gentle." He promised, squeezing some out onto his fingers. The teenage beauty nodded wordlessly, his eyes following the movement of the man's hands. His slick finger paused at the boy's entrance, before pushing in unbearably slowly. The virginal passage clenched against the obtrusion, before Haku took a breath, willing his muscles to relax. He wanted this more than anything.

When the man's skilled finger had rubbed enough of the oily liquid in, he gently entered another digit, remembering Haku's tiny cry of pain in the shower guiltily. He knew it was impossible not to cause _some_ pain during this endeavor, but he couldn't bear to cause any more than was absolutely necessary. . .

"Everything okay?" Zabuza asked huskily, trying to ignore his throbbing erection. He couldn't ever remember such sexual frustration in his life. He felt like he were poised on the edge of a cliff, ready to dive into a sea of the sweetest water, water that would heal all pain and counteract all negativity.

"Yes, I'm fine." Haku answered dizzily, his lower lip caught between his teeth, trying not to tense up. It hurt, but under the sharp pain, there was beginning to be a light pulse of dim pleasure.

Zabuza's coal eyes narrowed, his fingers stroking the soft insides, scissoring gently to prepare the sweet, tight body for what was coming.

"Oh my God!" When the tip of his calloused index finger made contact with the the tiny bundle of nerves lodged deep inside the boy, Haku sprang forward, his voice filled with rapture and an undernote of panic, his hands clenching his bodyguard's shoulders for support.

"I know, shh. . ." Zabuza hushed him, kissing his lips roughly. "Everyone will hear you."

"I never. . ." He trailed off, blushing red. Zabuza felt an unbelievable rush of pride and egotism at the beauty's reaction.

"Just keep it down." The man reminded him. Haku nodded, panting. He layed back, hissing in pleasure at the fingers still moving inside him.

"Next time, we are doing it at your apartment, so we can be as loud as we want." He said firmly, making Zabuza chuckle.

"Whatever you say, love." He thrust his fingers in and out a few more times, leaving Haku a moaning, stuttering mess as he tried to conceal his sounds.

"Oh, Zabuza, please, that's enough. Just do it."

"Haku, are you sure? I c-"

"I'm sure, I'm sure. I want you so bad, Zabuza. I need you." He repeated, holding his breath as the man lined his thick arousal up with his now slicked entrance. "Yes." He breathed, before the man could ask.

For a fleeting moment, Zabuza wondered if he should go in inch by agonizing inch, or if he should take it all in one go, and get the pain over with, like ripping off a band-aid. He took a deep breath, gripped the boy's hand tightly, their eyes locked.

His cock slid in smoothly, the pliant muscles of Haku tensing at first, like with the fingers, but eventually releasing tension, allowing him to seat himself fully inside his love. Their twin groans of gratification reverberated off the walls, but Zabuza was too lost to care. "Oh. . . _Fuck_, Haku."

Haku breathing was rapid and catchy, his gasps short and shallow, making him feel light-headed. His trembling arms locked around the assassin's neck instinctively, as much for comfort as convenience. He couldn't speak for a moment, needed time to collect himself.

"Are you okay?" Zabuza questioned roughly, concern being the only emotion even coming close to breaking through the haze of lust. He had never even imagined someone could feel this amazing, it's like they were made for each other. . . The boy's slick, throbbing channel was the most perfect thing he had ever felt, and already had every intention of feeling this sensation thousands upon thousands more times for the rest of his life.

"I. . . I think so." Haku exhaled his breath, afraid to move. The pain had shocked his senses, worse and different than what he had prepared for, but it was beginning to ebb away, slowly. "Please, don't move yet." He squeezed his eyes shut, hating that he felt hot tears slide down his cheekbones.

"Oh baby, I'm so sorry." Zabuza's lips kissed the warm, salty trails, nuzzling the boy's beautiful face, trying to give him any comfort he could, without moving his lower body. "The worst is over, I promise."

"I'm okay." He said after a minute. "Don't apologize, Zabuza. This is what I wanted. It's wonderful." He professed, more in love that he would have ever thought possible. "You can. . . Move now. If you want." To reiterate this suggestion, Haku arched his hips a little, brushing his hard cock against the man.

Zabuza complied gently, pulling out a bit, then pushing back in. He began slowly, with chaste tenderness, just enough speed and pressure to appease the aching pressure he felt. The need to release had never been so intense. . .

After only another minute or so, the acute but fleeting pain was almost completely gone, leaving only a slight soreness, like a bruise. Sensing the boy's discomfort had lifted, Zabuza's hands trailed under their bodies, lifting Haku's hips to better recieve him. The teenager moaned, hands gripping and twitching the man's back and shoulders, relaying the message that he wanted a deeper, faster speed. Again, Zabuza obliged, much too aware that this was close to being over as far as he was concerned. _Damn, _He thought bitterly, as their bodies slapped together softly. _It's been so long, I can barely last. . ._

The boy's imploring moans, and the tightening muscles around him were proving to be too much for him. "I'm close." Haku practically purred in his ear, leaving a tangle of emotions to stew in the man's stomach.

He gritted his teeth against the onslaught of sensations as he began to pump his hips like the pistons of a well-oiled machine. He was dimly aware that he was slamming against the boy's prostate with every thrust, practically paralyzing the former virgin in total pleasure.

Haku was reduced to stuttering out the man's name, and biting his bottom lip harshly to stifle his moans of delight. He held onto the man, his anchor in the storm, feeling the familiar burning sensation in his lower stomach. "Oh, Zabu- ah! I'm- Coming!"

It washed over him suddenly, the stimulation of his prostate with every expertly aimed thrust, and the older man's abs brushing against his aching arousal. His incredibly tight, pulsing muscles clenched rhythmically as he came, his eyes wide with amazement.

Zabuza froze, groaning from his chest as the boy's throbbing muscles pushed him off the slippery edge he had been teetering on. He felt his seed pump out of him in hot spurts, Haku shivering in pleasure at the warm feeling.

Neither of them spoke for what felt like a very long time. Their chests were heaving, breathing harsh and unsteady. Zabuza never let his full weight collapse on the boy, just absentmindedly held himself on his elbows, staring hard at the pattern on his bedspread beside the teenager's face.

He bit the tip of his tongue to keep from making a sound as he slipped his softening dick out of his lover, whose dark eyes regarded him with an expression he could not read.

"Did I do everything right?" Haku whispered, letting his eyes close dreamily, laying his head back on the pillow serenely.

"You did everything perfectly." Zabuza answered honestly, shifting to the side so he could tuck his new lover into the crook of his arms, the teen's head snuggled on his shoulder.

"Was it good for you?"

"It was by far the best sex I've had in my life." He smiled against the boy's silky hair, letting himself have one blissful moment of complete and utter relaxation. "How do you feel?"

"The same." Haku answered simply. "Just less horny."

Zabuza chuckled, shaking his head, breathing in the boy's scent. "Little smart-ass."

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**You guys better review! I can see how many people read this, you know. And it's starting to make me think my writing skills are too rusty to keep writing fics on here, to be honest D: **


	24. I Shivered Once, You Broke Into My Soul

** Alright, starting off exactly where we left off in chapter 22, before Zabuza and Haku do it in chapter 23**

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Deidara moaned softly (_Finally_! His mind screamed), arching slightly, his hands instantly slipping under the thick, long-sleeved shirt the scorpion wore, his hands gripping the man's back and shoulders.

His hair was so incredibly soft and silky, Sasori thought dimly as his hands plunged into it, pulling it back so the blonde's head was yanked back, their tongues wrestling slickly in his mouth, which still had traces of the cream and sugar in it. "Don't stop." Deidara whispered, blushing, when the redhead pulled back, testing the waters. Sasori scoffed in his throat, his chest rising and falling heavily. _Don't stop? That's invitation enough for me._ He gripped the blonde's narrow hips, lifting him and hitching the long thighs around his waist, kissing him again deeply. "Bed?" Sasori managed to ask between hot, mind-melting kisses, his hands kneading Deidara's tight, toned ass and legs.

"Doesn't matter." Deidara mumbled against the redhead's hard shoulder as Sasori clumsily kicked his bedroom door open. He expressed his pleasure when the scorpion tumbled him onto the soft bed by laughing softly, stretching his body invitingly over the tousled bedspread.

"A bed this first time." He decided, slithering onto the mattress over the slimmer man's body, supporting himself on his forearms. Their mouths locked back together, tongues wrestling for dominance. When they broke apart to breathe, Sasori's hands gripped his thin shirt, ripping it apart brutally, leaving the torn halves on the blonde's arms, locking them back behind him, leaving his torse completely exposed.

"Oh my God." Deidara moaned, letting his head fall back blissfully on the pillow. There was something so incredibly erotic about having his arms trapped behind him while the redhead's mouth roamed boldly over his chest and stomach.

"What a surprise. You like having no control. I never would have guessed." Sasori murmured sarcastically, his mouth cruising over the blonde's hipbone. After a few minutes of teasing, his lips, teeth, and tongue having made contact with what seemed like every inch of flesh available to him, Sasori tugged Deidara's arms free from the shirt.

"And you like having total control. Shocking." Deidara managed between gasps and moans.

"Your body is amazing." The scorpion growled under his breath, shaking his head in wonder as the younger male's hands wrenched the loose and shapeless long-sleeved shirt up over his head and tossed it behind them.

"Gee, I thought you said I was skinny. un." He bantered, letting his hand cruise down the scorpion's torso, his fingers drumming an odd little beat all the way down them.

"Toned." Sasori grinned cockily, remembering the argument that night. When the blonde's hand gripped him through his jeans, he hissed. "Fuck." He groaned, his fingers fumbling with the button on his own jeans, swatting Deidara's teasing hand away.

"Sasori?" An unfamiliar voice floated in from the front of the house, barely audible over the noises currently being made in the bedroom. Sasori visibly paled, his hands freezing on his zipper, as his head whipped toward the doorway. Deidara was too surprised by the look on Sasori's face to even move; He had never seen the man look so. . . Guilty? Nervous? Unsure? He couldn't decide. Whatever the case was, the person was coming, and it seemed like the redhead was paralyzed.

"Sasori, I know you're here, I see your car. I've been calling all day, I really just-" He appeared in the doorway, his words stopping cold, his mouth dropping open a little.

"Kai." The scorpion voiced, and for the span of what seemed like a full minute, but was really about 2.5 seconds, they just stared at each other.

_Pretty_, Deidara mused balefully, his hand falling laxly from between the redhead's thighs to the mattress. He had a pale gold skin tone, exotic almond-shaped eyes, and jet-black hair, with thick bangs cut so blunt and straight he might have used a ruler.

Sasori's body jerked away from him, as he stood, his fingers quickly re-buttoning his jeans. Kai's eyes darted from him and Deidara a few times before he spoke.

"You sure didn't wait long." He whispered accusingly, his dark, attractive eyes flashing anger and hurt. Deidara wondered idly if he should stand, or stay where he was. He was never good in these types of situations. . .

"What are you even doing here?" Sasori snapped, dodging the barb.

"I still have a key." He retorted, tossing the small silver object onto the mattress as if it were diseased. "I actually came to give it to you." His lower lip quivered once before he seemed to regain control, his hands curling into fists. "I needed to talk to you."

Sasori glanced back at Deidara a little remorsefully, but quickly looked away before any silent words or feelings could be passed between them. "Fine. Talk."

"In private, if you don't mind." Sasori heaved a sigh, following him out. He didn't glance back at the blonde.

Deidara's eyes widened. _Did he really just leave me in here to go talk to his ex-boyfriend? _He questioned himself. He could hear them talking in the living room, their words muffled. But if he listened hard, he could make them out.

"I don't know why you're so upset, we're broken up."

"And the first thing you do is go fuck that. . . Slut!" The last word was uttered with absolute repulsion, as if it had left something sour in his precious mouth. "Tell me, was the bed still warm from _me_ the first time you guys did it, or had you given it an hour or so to cool off?"

"You're acting like a jealous psycho, as usual. Only this time, I don't have to put up with you. In case you don't remember,_ you _broke up with _me_." Sasori emphasized coldly.

"What, so just because I didn't want to be with you anymore, you went out and found the first whore that would spread his legs for you? You told me you'd never be with someone like Deidara Hoshigaki in a million years."

Deidara froze in the middle of picking up his now ruined shirt, the expensive fabric in tatters. _Ouch. My pride_. He waited for Sasori to deny having ever said that, and to defend him, in that he was not a slut.

"What is this, intervention?" He snapped, their voices raising in octaves. "So what if I want to fuck someone or a hundred other someones? That stopped being your concern when you broke up with me."

Having boys like Kai call him names like slut and whore were not new for Deidara, and while it was somewhat daunting to hear it, he didn't agonize over it. But he hadn't been prepared for the feeling of his stomach sinking and rising to his throat like a rubber band all at the same time at Sasori's words.

"I broke up with you because I knew no matter how much I loved you, it would never come close to as much as you love yourself!" Deidara heard some rattling, like items being thrown or dropped. "Hidan told me what you said. About _him_."

"Shut the fuck up and get out of my house, you crazy fucking bitch!" The scorpion snarled, his temper teetering on a thin edge.

"Your personal mission to fuck him and manipulate him into being totally subservient to you? That's fucked up _even for you_, Sasori. I feel like an idiot, I didn't even believe him when he told me."

"Wow." Deidara quipped out loud, not quite managing to supress a soft laugh mostly brought on by anxiety and a slight hysteria. _This is what being heartbroken feels like. It totally sucks_. He couldn't stay here another second, not when his chest felt like it had taken a swipe slice with a sharp knife. He snatched a loose-fitting black t-shirt off a pile of what he assumed to be clean clothes, shoving his head and arms through it. He hoped Sasori wouldn't miss it, then decided he really didn't give a shit.

They were still arguing when Deidara slippped out the door soundlessly. He couldn't bear to face the scorpion, now or ever. He had become vulnerable, shown his true feelings. . . He had _cried_ in front of Sasori.

He ran for a few minutes, his strong legs pumping like pistons, the people and street signs blurring by with no signifigance to him. He finally stopped about 15 minutes later, leaning against the guard railing of the huge bridge, panting heavily, clutching his chest lightly.

_I need to start working out again_. . . He scooted up, lifting himself up onto the concrete wall carefully, his eyes glued to the ground. He remembered commenting to Sasori how beautiful the sparkling water was, far down below them, on the ride to his house. _It doesn't look as beautiful now_, he mused bitterly.

When his phone began ringing in his pocket, he automatically took it out, his heart clenching at the name on the screen. He contemplated for a moment, then tentatively opened it, bringing it to his ear.

"Deidara." The gravelly voice sounded in his ear. _Well, he certainly sounds distressed_. The blonde comprehended dizzily, feeling a little mentally unbalanced. "I'm sorry, I-" The Hoshigaki heir tilted his head, blinking bemusedly as he watched his hand, seemingly of it's own accord, throw the phone forcibly out over the water. It made a minimal splash, much to the blonde's dissatisfaction. He shoved himself up and forward, throwing himself back into a sprint, still panting lightly, his high ponytail whipping out behind him.

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Kisame glanced over at him fearfully every minute or so, as if afraid he would break into hysteria again as he carefully drove the mid-size, second-rate car down the interstate. Sasuke was staring dully out the window, his eyes skimming over the beautifully glistening water. His throat and eyes were aching from crying, something he hated doing. He hated the emotional vulnerability, and he hated the way his face got red and splotchy afterwards.

But when you forced yourself not to think about something for years, and it was suddenly forced to the surface of your mind like the dead, bloated corpse that had been dumped in a lake weeks before, you tended to handle it badly. What had he done? What was he going to do now? Now that he had reunited with Kisame, he couldn't just abandon it all and ignore Itachi, could he? But things could never be the same again. . . Could they? What would Naruto say? He shook his head, blinking back tears again, squinting against the harsh sun and. . . Some jogger's annoyingly bright yellow hair? He frowned, feeling an all-too-familiar spark of resentment toward the boy, who Naruto had cheerfully named his 'rival'.

"Is that Deidara?" Sasuke inquired softly, with a repulsed tone, gasping and throwing his hands forward against the dashboard when the shark slammed on the brakes. It only occured to the raven at that moment in time that because Haku and Deidara were brothers, and Haku and Kisame were brothers, then that meant. . ._ Small world_, he growled sarcastically in his mind, his mouth turning into a scowl.

"What the. . . ?" Kisame muttered to himself, slamming the car door open and folding his large body out of it. "Deidara, what the fuck are you doing out here, in this kind of area? Get in the car so I can take you home, you idiot."

The blonde jogged over to the car, a look of disbelief on his attracitve face, ignoring the man's authoritarian tone. "Kisa, like wow, I can't believe you're here, un. Whose car is this?" He smiled sweetly, knowing nothing worked better to quell his older brother's temper than good old-fashioned innocence.

"It's mine." Sasuke remarked haughtily, watching Deidara's eyes narrow predictably at the sight of him.

"I'd rather get hit than get in this car." He replied, looking back at the shark. "Thanks anyway, though." He said with mock cheerfulness, preparing to jog away before Kisame's impossibly strong hand gripped his collar like an iron vice, while the man's other hand opened the door to the backseat and tossed the blonde carelessly in, slamming the door in place.

"You're practically asking to get mugged or raped, jogging in an area like this." He sighed, shaking his head. _Kids. . . _He thought wearily as he got back in the driver's seat.

"Hey!" Deidara snarled, punching the door without much force. "What the Hell, Kisa? I'm fine! I jog here all the time!" He improvised. Falling silent at the lack of response, he got, his eyes trailed over to the raven. Sasuke folded his arms over his chest, staring forward out of the windshield, his mouth set in a permanent frown. "And what in the fuck are you doing driving Uchiha's car? Ew, your face is all red and blotchy, you've been crying." He commented rudely. "I didn't think it was possible, but you look even worse than usual."

"Deidara!" Kisame looked back at him incredulously. "What the Hell?!"

"I don't even have the adequate words to describe what you look like, but I feel like Malibu Barbie hooker edition is about as close as I'm going to get."

"Sasuke!" Kisame cried out, louder, his eyes round as saucers, his good-natured friendliness more than a little offended by the animosity. The last thing he wanted at this moment was to deal with two young, bitching ukes. Dealing with that from Ita was one thing, at least they had sex on a regular basis. "What the fuck is wrong with the two of you? Do you even know each other? Deidara, I've never heard you be so rude!"

Both of them refused to answer, Sasuke staring out the windshield determinedly again, his arms crossed in a stubborn x over his chest, Deidara's eyes planted firmly out the window.

"Fine, both of you just shut up for the rest of the ride." The shark heaved a sigh, shaking his head. He yanked the car into drive, speeding down the road like a runaway freight train. "It's kind of strange that you two know each other, actually." He began to muse to himself, not allowing their pissy moods to affect his usual mannerisms. "You know, after I marry Itachi, you guys will be brothers. Well, brothers-in-law, but you know. . ." He smiled widely.

Sasuke groaned, feeling sick to his stomach, covering his face with his hands. Deidara smiled sweetly, like poisoned honey. "Wow, is that true, Kisa? You're going to marry that guy? Now that you mention it, he _does_ look like Sasuke. Only less, you know. . . Gross."

"We barely look alike, you tool." Sasuke retorted, rolling his dark eyes. "But I understand, the long-term effects of eyeliner every day must be rough on your eyesight."

Kisame chose not to comment on this, because he had also noticed how much their looks favored each other. "I can't believe how you guys are talking to each other. What's the problem? You guys fighting over the same guy or some high school bull?"

Sasuke scoffed. "Never. Any guy that would even look twice at such a trashy-"

"Sorry to let you in on this, but Naruto and I _did_ make out a party a few years ago before you guys were dating." Deidara interrupted, twisting a lock of hair around his finger when the raven whipped around in his seat, eyes blazing, teeth bared. "I'm just kidding! But look how upset you were, oh my gosh. You're so funny, Sasuke, un." He giggled, flipping the strand back into place. "I don't do blondes."

"You're such an idiot." He concluded, turning back around, but felt the hot rage pumping through his veins begin to cool.

"I take it this. . . _Naruto_ is your fiance, then?" Kisame questioned.

"That's right." He answered softly, glancing at the older man. "He's. . . Wonderful."

"I can't wait to meet him." He said honestly. "I. . ." He trailed off, shaking his head. "This is a little strange for me, you know. I never really stopped thinking of you as a kid, Sasuke. And you, Deidara. . . You're my little brother. I'll always think of you as a kid."

_Spoiler alert,_ Sasuke thought haughtily. _Kid's a total slut. _

"Well, sorry to disappoint you, Kisa. But I happen to be a total adult." Deidara pointed out, wiggling his fingers in a sort of wave.

"What were you doing out here anyway?" The shark questioned suspiciously, not wanting to hear any more of what he considered sordid details, like the fact that the blonde had _made out with guys_. No sir, he would prefer to think of both he and Haku as sweet, sexless angels, and that's just what he would do.

"Oh, well I. . ." He trailed off, unsure of what to say. "I _was_ visiting a guy."

"A boyfriend?" Kisame asked quickly, eyeing him quizically.

"Not. . . Really. I thought. . ." _I thought he liked me._ "I kind of thought so, but he was a jerk." He remarked quietly, his voice taking on a rare, vulnerable tone. Sasuke glanced back at him subtly, surprised at the emotions in the voice. The blonde was staring down at the seat, his lashes lowered down over his eyes. The raven crossed his arms stubbornly, shaking his head once again. _No, no fucking way. I do not feel bad for that bimbo. He deserves whatever he gets for the way he acts. _"I couldn't even stand to look at him anymore, after what he said to me. So I left. I ran, because. . . I didn't want him to catch me."

"He didn't hurt you, did he?" The shark asked sharply, staring at the boy in the rearview mirror through squinted eyes. "Did he hit you!?"

"No." Deidara shook his head dejectedly, shrugging. _He only just ripped my heart out, threw it on the ground, and stomped on it with his stupid combat boots. . ._ _No biggie, really._

Sasuke's eyes scanned him scrutinizingly, his brows furrowing. _Damn him for looking so genuinely hurt! What, did the guy not ask politely before they fucked?_

Kisame seemed satisfied with this answer. "Well, just remember there are more fish in the sea, all that, whatever." He waved his hand carelessly. "You're too young for all that anyway."

"Pardon me, but didn't you start dating my brother when you guys were still in high school? He was a freshman, wasn't he?" Sasuke interjected quietly.

"A freshman, un? You pervert, Kisa." Deidara's eyes widened. "Didn't know you liked them _that _young!" _That's an even bigger age gap than Zabuza and Haku! _He thought, but wisely didn't voice the comparison.

"Idiot!" Sasuke snapped, glaring. "That's been 6 years ago! They've been together. . . all this time." His voice softened, his eyes trailing back over to the shark in inquiry.

"All this time." Kisame agreed. "I never really told you or Haku because, well. . . I know you can't keep a secret, Dara. And I didn't want Haku to feel bad. I've sort of been. . . Waiting until he was old enough."

_Can't keep a secret? If only you knew, Kisa. . ._ Deidara surmised guility. "Haku's birthday is soon. . . " He pointed out. "And. . . He has Zabuza now. I don't think you have to worry." Deidara's eyes widened suddenly in shock. Sasuke knew about Haku and Zabuza, he was sure of it. He had to protect his brother's secret! "Zabuza really is a great bodyguard, un!"

Sasuke nearly had to hide a smile. _No shit, Sherlock. Of course Kisa doesn't know about them._ "He is very protective of Haku. Very professional." He added amicably.

Kisame, oblivious, nodded seriously. "An excellent candidate for Haku's protection." And that was the end of that. Deidara fleetingly wondered what the shark's reaction would be when he did find out about the two of them.

The older man followed the vague instructions the raven had given him impeccably, having always had an excellent sense of direction and ended up at Sasuke and Naruto's apartment with little trouble. Before the three of them could finish unloading, the blonde hurricane streaked out of the door, wrapping Sasuke in a tight embrace, kissing his mouth lavishly and dramatically.

"Oh, Sasuke, the minutes seem like hours when I'm away from you!" He proclaimed between loud, smacking kisses. "Oww!" He groaned when the raven's fist plowed into his midsection, the brunette struggling to get away.

"Idiot." Sasuke muttered, shaking his head. He glanced back at the eldest Hoshigaki brother with a withering look. "Kisame, this is Naruto Uzumaki. Naruto. . . This is Haku's oldest brother."

"Charmed." He grinned, cocking an eyebrow. Naruto's head snapped up, eyes darting between the two brothers, as if he had just noticed their existence.

"Nice to meet you." He stated, holding out a firm hand for the older man. It didn't occur to him to be jealous, it never did. Although he was acutely aware of the fact that Sasuke was totally hot and considered somewhat out of his league by some, he knew the raven was nuts about him. "Deidara!" His eyes grew in surprise. "What are you. . .?"

"Naruto." The two blondes exchanged friendly looks. Naruto was _also_ acutely aware of Sasuke's contempt and loathing for Deidara, but that wasn't his problem, right? He loved everyone!

"Well, thank you very much for driving me home, Kisame, I am grateful. But now how will you and-?"

"Deidara and I will catch a cab back." The shark interrupted. Naruto glanced between them again, then his eyes widened.

"Sasuke, are you. . . Crying?"

"No." He denied, shaking his head. "I'm fine, don't worry about it." He voiced firmly, giving his tanned lover a stern look. Naruto frowned hesitantly.

"But I. . . You're upset. What's going on here?" He asked loudly, looking back up at the two brothers accusingly.

"Don't ask me." Deidara replied, throwing his hands up in surrender. "I'm a hostage in this situation."

Kisame looked away, slightly guilty, avoiding giving an answer to the worried man. "Sasuke, I have your number and you have mine. I will be calling you to set up. . . A meeting."

Sasuke stared at him for a moment before nodding once. "I will consider it."

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** Leave a review~!**


	25. I Say Goodbye To My Weakness

** Nothing to say, except idk of anyone noticed or caught the references, but I named all the chapters (excluding chapter 1, chapter 2, chapter 7, and chapter 17) after a line in a song, and I tried to base the theme or 'mood' of the chapter on the song in which it was named after (Well, the main part of the chapter anyway. I know a lot of the chapters have a few different things going on, but it should be easy to tell what is the central point of the chapter). I'm sure I didn't do it perfectly for all the chapters, but I think I did okay. Anyway, on the last chapter, after the ending, I will post the list of songs for each chapter, in case anyone was interested(: **

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"Just how does that psycho Orochimaru expect us to get at that kid, huh? He's got a round-the-clock bodyguard! That hulking mass doesn't leave his side for an instant!" Orochimaru's "hired help", a beastly gangster named Yoroi shook his head in protest, adjusting his glasses. "I staked out there for three whole days, and I swear to you, that guy didn't let his guard down even for a moment!"

His partner in crime, a smaller but equally beastly and effective criminal named Zaku shrugged indifferently. "I doubt he knows how we have to do it, or he would have just done it himself." He clucked his tongue a few times, shuffling through the stacks of documents they had been given for this assignment.

"Cute kid." Yoroi mused, the 'brawn' of their operation, turning the pictures of their 'target' side to side, as if getting a better angle.

"If you like weird little girl-boys." Zaku said, cocking a brow. He took one of the pictures off the table, scrutinizing it. "Look at this. He's wearing a skirt here."

"It suits him." Yoroi shrugged again.

They both leaned back into their chairs, seeming to be giving a lot of thought into this. Orochimaru, after all, was a personal favorite client of their boss, who they would hate to disappoint. Zaku ran a hand through his hair, blowing out a breath. "Well, did you get any intel on the guard, at least?"

"Pictures." The larger man dug the prints out of his own stack of papers, handing them over. He felt goosebumps slide over his skin when Zaku's eyes widened in shock.

"M-Momochi?" He hissed, eyes narrowing on one of the pictures. He riffed through all the pictures, his mouth opening slightly. "Yoroi, you fool. Do you even know who that is?!"

"Enlighten me." He growled at the insult.

"Zabuza Momochi." He breathed the word out, and waited for a response. When the man did not reply, he slapped the table with his palm. "Zabuza The Demon!"

"Why do they call him that?" Yoroi scoffed. Zaku was so overdramatic, as always.

"Because when he's after you, you barely have to blink, and then you're dead." He said it loudly, eyes widening with each syllable, his face punching forward for dramatic effect.

"Oh, please. If they died right away, how would anyone know they barely had time to blink?" He inquired logically. "Sounds like an urban legend. He doesn't look so tough."

"I'm out." Zaku gave the man a grim smile, unceremoniously standing up, dropping his papers onto the table.

"Excuse me?" Yoroi asked, cocking a brow. "Is this your idea of a joke? Because it isn't very good. You know I detest when you get so engrossed in your melodrama."

"No joke, good buddy. And as your long-time friend, I'm gonna advise you follow my lead. _Trust me_."

Yoroi hesitated, but he felt all the warmth on his skin skitter away, leaving a frigid sensation. ". . . Don't fuck with me, Zaku."

"I don't kid. That is Gatou's number one man, and for a good reason. I worked with him once, when I did some independent stuff for Gatou."

"And!?" He asked, standing up as well, so they were face-to-face.

"I saw him get shot. Right in the fuckin' shoulder. Wham bam, thank you ma'am. And you know what he did then?" He whispered, leaning forward again. When Yoroi shook his head, the man continued. "He laughed. Not a chuckle, like a genuine har-de-har like someone just said something really funny. Then, no lie, he dug two of his fingers in the wound, and kind of. . . Wiggled the bullet out. It dropped right out onto the ground."

"Bullshit."

"None to speak of. I mean, it was a shallow wound, it hit in a good spot. But I tell you, he barely even flinched. And his fingers were like _in there, man_, like he was digging for gold. And I just kind of stood there watching him, and when I saw that bullet slide out and hit the ground, I thought I was just gonna puke right then and there."

Yoroi opened his mouth to say 'bullshit' again, but the look in his friend's eyes stopped him cold.

"It was like he was already dead. A ghost, just waiting to expire. . . And afterwards, I. . . I was freaked out to talk to him. But when I did, he was. . . Normal. He talked to me like anyone, told me I did a good job for a rookie." He shook his head again, shivering. "I said thanks a lot mister, because who the fuck wants someone like that on their bad side? But anyway, long story short-"

"As always, we are well past that point." Yoroi interrupted him crudely, but he had already heard enough.

"Long story short," Zaku repeated. "I'm out. If Orochimaru wants_ that _little boy for a chew toy, he's going to be getting it from someone else. I'd rather go up against Satan himself." He affirmed.

Yoroi paused, his eyes slitting behind his dark glasses. "Well then, I guess that's that, eh?"

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"What!?" Orochimaru snarled, barely able to contain his rage enough to keep from coming across the table at the corporation leader.

"I apologize." He repeated slowly, looking the long-haired man in the eyes. "But none of my employees will take this mission. Even my two favorites-"

"That's not my problem!" The snake growled, baring his teeth. "I've had you do many things for me, what is the issue now!?"

"None of them will go up against Momochi." He raised his hands, not wanting to invoke the man's anger any further. But it just simply could not be done.

Orochimaru closed his eyes softly, letting a shaky breath out, taking his seat again. When his eyes opened, they were dark with pure evil. "Damn him. Gatou's little do-boy."

The man shook his head. He had nothing good to say about Gatou. He was, after all, a competitor in their business, but even with the disdain he felt, he knew calling Zabuza Gatou's 'do-boy' was a ludicrous comparison. Like calling the Mona Lisa Van Gogh's little project.

Orochimaru rubbed his temples with two fingers softly. "I did not want to have to resort to this, but nothing will stop me from getting what I want. And what I want, is Haku Hoshigaki." He growled the name out lowly, the palms of his hands itching sinisterly. He had been watching, and waiting, for so long. The child he'd met so long ago had blossomed gracefully, as he had expected, into a petite and ideally well-formed teenager. With perfectly young and unspoiled beauty, topped off by an already submissive attitude. No, he thought assuredly, Haku wouldn't be one to be bold or defiant. But the thought of the refined beauty laying completely malleable and nonresistant in his bed made his tongue twitch in his mouth.

"What are you going to do?" The man interrupted him from his thoughts.

"You see, Gatou is all about money, as is the motivation of his employees. Money makes the world go round, of course. I will simply have to offer him more money than Haku's parents are paying him for the boy's protection."

"Seems simple enough." He agreed, nodding softly. "And then boy is open for your. . . Exploitation." He decided on the word, though admittedly he did find it a bit too civil for what he knew Orochimaru planned on using the small teenager for. "Although I must warn you. . . Gatou is not one to double-cross one of his own. He will not take your offer if he feels it upsets a certain. . . Balance."

The man's mouth opened in a wide grin, tongue flitting out sinisterly to lick his lips. "Everyone has a price."

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Zabuza groaned, the sweetness of their moment shattered by the shrill ringing of his cellphone. He was still wrapped in Haku's lovely, lithe body, their lips still pressed together. This affectionate cuddling was something he wouldn't have dreamed of before meeting Haku, but it was. . . Nice, the older man decided. Haku laying limp and spent in his arms, his cocoa eyes once again giving the bodyguard an adoring and slavish look. All of his sexual encounters before had ended with him getting up quickly, cleaning himself off, and leaving. Sticking around after the fuck was done had always been a little awkward in his opinion, and anyway, he never promised anything to anyone before a good romp. So it wasn't like he was just taking off to avoid anything.

Taking Haku's virginity had been better than he had expected. . . _That_ kind of sex was holy, he decided. Moving carefully so as not to disturb the boy's relaxed position, he gripped the phone off the table, opening it, and moving it to his ear.

"What?" He grunted, shifting when Haku planted a sweet kiss on his chest. He sighed resignedly. "Now? Are you shitting me, Gatou?" Haku tilted his head to the side, trying to hear the words of the other person on the line, but all he could hear were garbled noises. "Fine." Was his own reply as he snapped the phone closed, laying it on the bed beside them.

"Something wrong?" Haku asked, trying to sit up, but wincing when he found it a little too uncomfortable for his taste. Zabuza ran a large hand over his hair consolingly, frowning. The small teen smiled cheerfully. "It's fine." He promised. "Just sore, that's all."

"My boss needs to speak to me now. Right now." He said, rolling his eyes to the ceiling.

"Sure. I'll just get dressed." Haku said agreeably, slipping carefully off the bed, eyes widening when his legs hit the floor. "Oh." He breathed. "Wow. Very sore." He blushed lightly, looking back up at the man, who sighed. "I. . . I'll get used to it, right?"

"Eventually." Zabuza agreed, running a gentle hand down the boy's spine, fingers ghosting down to his rear. "I'll let you rest between now and next time. And take some ibuprofen before we leave."

_Damn,_ He thought in irritation. _I was still too rough on him. _He sighed inwardly, willing himself that he would have to get used to the boy's discomfort, too. He was so big, and Haku was so small. . . As much as he loved the small stature and adorably unpretentious features, he knew there was bound to be pain some of the time. He could only hope that he never lost complete control during a passionate encounter and do something he couldn't fix or take back. _Stop worrying about that,_ He chided himself. _You have the control, you won't hurt him._

Haku nodded once, his sweet smile still firmly in place. A little pain was nothing compared the satisfied feeling he had. _No wonder Deidara likes sex so much._

They got dressed rather quickly, Haku brushing through his tangled hair carefully, Zabuza travelling down to the kitchen for a few little pain pills and a glass of water for the boy. "You are the love of my life." Zabuza had whispered against his ear after handing him the water and medicine, making the boy flush with pure pleasure and joy. As they walked out the door, a bright yellow taxi cab pulled in, Deidara and Kisame piling out out of it, the blonde stretching, his arms high above his head.

Deidara seemed wrapped up in his own thoughts as he walked past them, barely acknowledging the two of them with more than a wave. But when their paths crossed, and the blonde's body was right beside theirs, he stiffened, his face whipping up to look at the pair of them intently.

Haku blushed crimson, knowing exactly what was coming._ How does he know!_? Haku's mind screamed, half in frustration, half in amazement. The brother's eyes locked with each other, the gleam of pure sapphire against deep, brown earth, neither looking away, while Zabuza watched Kisame throw some money at the cab driver, before walking their way. He nodded to both of them amicably before heading in, the door snapping shut behind him, clearly oblivious to the staring contest going on between his youngest siblings.

"Just shut it, Deidara." Haku hissed, glaring. Deidara smiled in pure satisfaction, leaning forward until their noses nearly touched, batting his lashes mockingly.

"Watch your tone, dear brother, un. After all, I'm just looking out for you." He leaned forward the last inch, laying an insulting peck to the brunette's cheek before sauntering off to the door. Haku huffed, wiping his cheek defiantly. He glanced over at Zabuza who had paled slightly, his eyes wide. _Blonde Devil_, the man thought gruffly. Before he had reached the last inch to the knob, he turned slightly, giving them both a pithy look.

"And, Haku, stop walking like that. You're making it so obvious even Kisa would notice." He laughed a little, shaking his head before sliding through the door, closing it with a soft click.

Haku layed his hand on his forehead, shaking his head. "What a jerk." He whispered apologetically. "Something sure has him in a mood." And hadn't he just gone on a date with Sasori? Something must have happened between them. . .

"Your brother is going to get us caught." Zabuza growled, jerking a shoulder once before snatching his car door open. Haku carefully sat in the passenger seat, buckling the belt over his chest.

"Don't worry, he just likes to mess with me. He's always been like that, ever since we were kids, especially if he's in a bad mood. He lashes out on anyone but he's not going to tell Kisa."

"How does he even know?"

"He figured it out. He's like a sex bloodhound." Haku answered weakly, chewing his lower lip nervously. "Well, you know. You saw him. His pupils nearly dilated when he walked by us."

Zabuza didn't answer, just grunted in response. "This shouldn't take long, the boss wouldn't call me for anything stupid."

"It's fine, Zabuza. You know I'm fine doing whatever, as long as I'm with you." He assured the man.

They didn't talk much on the way there, until Haku cleared his throat softly. "Zabuza, I don't want to say anything you won't like, but. . ."

"It's fine."

"Well, I was thinking. . . When I turn 18, and I get my money and my freedom. . . I. . . I was thinking about where we would live. I don't want to live in the manor." He said quickly, frowning. "And I know if I go, Kisa will go too. To be with his lover. And I just. . . I just want to live alone with you."

"Of course, Haku." Zabuza answered slowly, somewhat perplexed. "Did you think I didn't want to live with you?"

"Well, I didn't want to assume anything. I know you have your place, and. . ."

"My place." Zabuza scoffed, rolling his eyes. "I'm fine with going somewhere else. I would love to find a place we will love together." Haku beamed visibly at his words, resting his head on the window. "But, I'm not fine with living off your money."

"What?" Haku tilted his head. "But, Zabuza, that's silly. Do you even know how much I'm getting? It's not like I worked for any of it. Our mother and father gave it to us to appease their guilt for Kisa pretty much parenting us for them."

"It doesn't matter." The assassin said sharply. "I'm just not comfortable with you. . . Being the provider for us."

"What a macho attitude." Haku shook his head. "You provide everything for me. Can't you let me have this one thing? Or do you just want me as a trophy?" He asked quietly, eyes fixed to the floorboards.

"No!" Zabuza denied hotly. "Not a trophy. But. . . I want to provide a life for you, Haku. You're my everything. I want to make your life as wonderful as you will make mine, just by being my lover."

"Did it ever occur to you that you make me as happy as I make you?" The teen asked, his hand slowly inching forward to rub his guard's muscled forearm.

Zabuza hesitated, eyeing him with speculation. "I know I make you happy, Haku, but. . . You really don't understand how beautiful you are, do you?" When the boy didn't answer, he heaved a sigh and went on. "Haku, I'm a fuck-up. And as wonderful as you seem to think I am, that's not how it is. Not in this life. You're someone who men would _kill_ to be with, even if you don't know it. You're the kind of person that makes people fall completely in love, with just a look or a word."

Haku shook his head slowly, eyes wide. "No, that's Deidara. I know I'm pretty, Zabuza, but. . . Not like Deidara or Sasuke. They're so. . . Stunning and special. And I'm attractive in. . . A plain way. In a not overly intimidating and easy to approach kind of way. I know that. It's fine, I'm fine with that." He said, wringing his hands together. "I don't need to be beautiful like them. You don't have to try to convince me."

Zabuza shook his head in amazement. "Deidara and Sasuke are attractive, both in very different ways and for different reasons. But you are just as attractive as them, anyone could tell you that. In fact, I'm sure if you asked either one of them, they could both tell you at least a trait or two that you have that they may be jealous of."

"Do you really think so?" Haku asked doubtfully. "I can't think of anything about me that they would possibly have to be jealous of."

"You are your own harshest critic." The older man answered quietly. "Trust me when I tell you that everyone else that looks at you, myself included, is in awe of your dazzling beauty."

"Thank you." Haku said after a minute of blushing. "I'm so glad you think that, Zabuza. I so want to be attractive for you."

"You're too attractive for me." He answered honestly. "When we move out, and our relationship is. . . Out in the open, you will be surprised at the reactions we get. People will wonder what you're doing with me, you know."

"Oh, I don't think that's true. You're so handsome and strong." The long-haired teen shook his head, smiling sweetly. "And anyway, I don't care what people think. You're everything I've ever wanted. You make me so happy and I feel like I couldn't live without you. Their opinions of what we have mean less than nothing to me."

And that, Zabuza decided, was the point. If they were happy together, what _did_ it matter if other people thought he wasn't good enough for Haku?

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After they parked in the parking lot and rode the elevator up to the top floor of the tall building in which Gatou's office was located, Zabuza started to direct Haku to sit in the waiting room like before.

"No, you better bring him in, too." Gatou said quietly and gruffly, appearing in the doorway. Haku looked more than a little frightened of this man, so taking pity on the young boy, Zabuza squeezed his shoulder encouragingly, and led him into the large office.

They both sat in large mahogany chairs and waited for Gatou to sit across from them at the huge desk. _He's overcompensating for his tiny size with all this huge stuff. . . _Haku realized, barely able to keep from wrinkling his nose in disdain. He didn't like pretense, or facades, and that's exactly what this man's attitude was.

"It's nice to meet you, Haku. I'm Gatou, Zabuza's boss. I'm sure you've heard all about me."

"Not really." Haku said flatly. He purposely avoided looking the man in the eye. He wasn't sure why, but this man rubbed him completely the wrong way.

"Are you finding his services to you. . . Satisfactory?" Gatou asked, finally catching his eyesight, staring at him intensely.

"His service is to my parents, not me. But to answer your question more directly, I am enjoying his company and he is an excellent escort." He wasn't sure why he was being so rude, but he couldn't find his usual sweet demeanor inside himself at this point in time. Zabuza looked surprised, but didn't comment on the boy's attitude.

"Good enough. Just curious on how my employee is doing. After all, the Hoshigaki family is one of my most valued clients."

Haku didn't reply, just fixed his eyes on the desk insolently. Zabuza tapped the desk with his fist.

"Cut the chatter, Gatou! What the Hell did you want? As you can see, everything is fine. You don't need to check up on me."

"I'm not checking up on you, Momochi, stop sulking like a little bitch." The boss replied in a friendly tone, waving his hand dismissively. Haku frowned obviously at the language but remained silent. "I actually came to warn you."

"Warn me?" Zabuza asked, mystified.

"I actually just got out of a meeting with a potential client. I called you as soon as he left." He answered, shuffling through some papers, a grim look on his hoggish face. "His name was Orochimaru and he was interested in some business with me."

Zabuza didn't hear anything after that, his attention fixed solely on his young lover, whose creamy skin had paled to the color of paper at the name. His breath hitched in his throat, his heart speeding up to the point that he could not distinguish the seperate thuds. _Why am I so afraid? _Haku thought dimly, but it didn't matter. No matter what the reason, the boy's body temperature had plunged, leaving his skin ice cold.

"Haku, what's the matter?" Zabuza snapped sharply, his hand flying up to the boy's shoulders swiftly. "Are you alright?"

"I'm sorry, Zabuza." The boy breathed out. "I. . . Where have I heard that name before? I. . . " He couldn't finish, his breath being expelled in shallow gasps, his delicate hand lightly clutching his chest and throat.

"Water." Zabuza snarled at one of the goons guarding the door to Gatou's office. The employee knew better than to argue, bounding out of the room to fetch a glass of water for the boy. _Orochimaru. . . _The brown-haired man remembered where the name had come from perfectly, and remembered Emily's story perfectly. It couldn't really be the same person, could it?

Zabuza stood sharply, snatching the glass of chilled water away when it was brought to him, and held Haku gently with one arm, tipping the boy's head back, bringing the cup to his lips. "It's okay, baby, calm down. You're so pale." He murmured, completely forgetting where they were, who they were in front of, anything. His concern for his young lover overshadowed everything in spades.

_Baby? _Gatou thought incredulously, but withheld his comment. As long as the mission was carried out, his client was satisfied, and he recieved payment for it, he couldn't care less who Zabuza fucked. _Or loved, _the stubby man thought in surprise. He was no idiot. The tender way the assassin's hands handled the slender boy was no indication of a quick fuck or fling. And the total fear in the man's obsidian eyes expressed emotions that Gatou had never known the man to feel before. . .

Haku sipped the water obediently, leaning his head back accomodatingly. When he had drank half of it, Zabuza pulled it away, setting the glass on the desk. "I'm sorry." The teen repeated, embarrassed. "I don't know what's wrong with me, I just. . . I feel like I'm having a panic attack or something."

"You don't have to apologize." The older man muttered soothingly, stroking a calloused hand over silky smooth hair, letting it fall through his fingers. He let out a sigh of relief. Haku's color was beginning to come back, albeit slowly, and his breathing was still unsteady, but it was starting to even out.

"Zabuza, I know you know something. The way you're acting, the way you're looking at me. Tell me." He demanded softly but firmly. Zabuza nodded, resigned. He would never keep anything from the boy ever again.

"Your mother told me about what had happened to you when you were a kid. She says you don't remember." Haku shook his head slowly, trying to absorb the information.

"Zabuza, it's the same person." Gatou, who had been informed of the incident with Orochimaru by Emily Hoshigaki, but had deemed it irrelevant to tell Zabuza. Now, though, that he had sat across the table from the dangerous long-haired man, he regretted this decision. "Orochimaru tried to pay me for you to stop protecting Haku. He wanted me to decline this job to the Hoshigaki's."

"What?" Zabuza snarled, his hands tightening on the boy's arms protectively. Haku winced at the pain, but kept silent. His mind was racing. What were they talking about? Why was he so suddenly cold?

"I refused, of course." Gatou sniffed haughtily. "No matter the sum, the loyalty of the Hoshigaki family is priceless. And while he was vague about his reasons for wanting Haku unprotected, it's pretty damn obvious why. He was more than pissed when I denied his offer."

And the world exploded; The glass of the front wall shattered, sending shards flying toward them like tiny missiles, the nearly deafening, drowning out Haku's scream. The small boy flew forward out of his upended chair, falling against the edge of the desk, a pain shooting through his stomach at the wood slamming against him. He heard a noise like a cannon pressed against his ear, and felt Zabuza's hands leave his body rather abruptly.

He watched in complete shock as the older man's body was ripped from with the force so strong, he couldn't imagine what it was. The man's large body seemed to tumble up onto the huge, flat surface of the desk, rolling across it, and slipping off the other side, bright red blood flowing unabashedly from his right shoulder-blade, leaving a shimmering trail.

"Zabuza!" Haku screamed, scrambling up onto the desk, his knees sliding in the thick, viscuous liquid. _It's warm, _Haku thought incoherently, one of those very observant thoughts you have only when you are truly afraid. His eyes widened, and his body jerked as he felt someone lift him off the desk, away from Zabuza's blood, away from the man period. In his panic, he barely felt the tiny prick of a syringe in his arm.

He shrieked again, struggling in complete vain. Whoever was holding him was strong, terrifyingly so.

"You double-crossed me, you snake bastard!" Gatou snarled. Everything seemed to be happening in slow motion to Haku, as if they were in some underwater cavern. He watched the hoggish man pull a gun out a drawer with surprising quickness and aim it at them. He watched the man hesitate for a fraction of a second, not wanting to shoot the pretty brunette, but that was all it took.

There were two masked men besides the man that was holding him with such horrifying tightness that he felt as though he were being crushed. He could feel a firm, tough man's body behind him, pressing against his back and legs, the arms holding him in place so he could barely move a muscle. One of the masked men brought a blunt club down on Gatou's head, knocking him out cold, his body falling to the floor like a ragdoll.

He heard Zabuza bellow, a scream of frustrated petulant rage as his good arm lifted him with great effort above the desk. His face appeared, teeth bared like a lion, chest heaving with the effort of breathing.

_He's bleeding so much someone please help him he's going to die I don't know what I will do if Zabuza dies then again maybe I will die too and it will be okay but if not please God or whoever it is that watches over things please let Zabuza be okay, _Haku's thoughts ran together in one fluid sentence as terror washed over him, leaving him limp, as if his life energy had been dissipated in one clawing stroke.

The other masked man fired a gun again, the bullet once again ripping through Zabuza's body, this time through his thigh, his face and body falling down below Haku's view again.

Even in his state of absolute agony, Zabuza was quite aware that these were not killing shots, were not meant to be. _He wants me to live,_ the assassin realized with a kind of helpless rage. _He wants me to live with the fact that I lost. That I lost Haku._

And with that thought, no matter how much his mind willed him to stay awake and conscious, a body could only take so much. His mind drifted into nothingness, while his body faced death for the second time in his life.

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Haku awoke what seemed like only minutes later, but had actually been hours, in a soft bed, with a thick quilt comforter over his shivering body. He moaned a little, still groggy with the drug coursing through him, rubbing his face against the pillow.

His skin was. . . Clean, he realized with confusion. There had been blood, and sweat, and. . . He couldn't finish the thought as his heart throbbed, remembering what the blood had been from; his beloved Zabuza's body. His hair was no longer matted and tangled, but damp and fresh, with the scent of an unfamiliar shampoo lingering in it, his skin the same. He tried to sit up, but quickly faltered, his arms lacking the strength to support him yet.

"I had one of my men give you a bath, and put you to bed." A voice that sent shivers down his spine informed him helpfully. Haku's face whipped to the side, staring at the figure standing at the foot of the bed he was laying in, his mouth quivering. "Don't worry." Orochimaru smirked a little at the boy's obvious fear. "He didn't take advantage of your unconscious state in that way. I would castrate anyone who tried to touch what is mine."

"I'm. . . Yours?" Haku stuttered out, not having wanted to say the words out loud, but they had slipped out without his control.

"Undisputedly mine." Orochimaru whispered affectionately, his hand reaching out to fondle a thick strand of jet-black hair, toying with it, before ghosting his fingertips over the teenager's full lips. "Don't fret, pretty young thing, I don't intend to rape you. You will learn to love what I do for you, as they do."

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** Review! I feel like with this chapter, I'm starting to get a little of my old rhythm back(:  
**


	26. So Brown Eyes, I Hold You Near

** This chapter is very short, but I felt compelled to stop it here before continuing. I typed it up very quickly, and am adding it quickly as well. I also wanted to use the bottom author's note to get a feel on the reader's opinions on the fic I will be starting after this one.**

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Haku felt the blood drain out of his face, out of his head, leaving him dizzy and uncoordinated. His eyes stared blankly, but not really _seeing_, while the words sunk into his mind for his comprehension. "Rape me?" He repeated slowly, as if the words were in a foreign language. Without his consent, his mind began to play bits and pieces of memories he had with his first bodyguard, Pain Rikudo.

Orochimaru grinned a very condescending grin, much like an adult to a child who had asked a very stupid question. Not annoyed or impatient, just very much with the knowledge that he, the adult, was on a different plane of knowledge than the child. "You're so pale. You should sleep some more, to restore your lovely color."

Haku shuddered involuntarily. _He's talking to me as if he's taking care of me. _"My parents have a lot of money. They'll give you anything you want. Please just let me go." He whispered, finally finding the strength to sit up. The blanket pooled to his waist, leaving him stunned with the very unpleasant knowledge that he was completely naked underneath it. He gripped the quilt tightly with his hands, wrapping it tighter around his slim waist.

"There's no need for modesty, I've seen everything. You're so lovely, with such fine bone structure. You're like a rare little gemstone, or like delicate gossamer."

Haku blushed, feeling his breath stick in his throat like gumpaste. His trembling hands clenched the bedsheet tighter. "Did you hear me?" He whispered again, barely able to get the words out. "I can pay you, I'll give you anything if you just let me go. I won't even tell anybody, and-"

"I'm afraid you're missing the point, Haku." Orochimaru interrupted, and for some reason hearing his own name come out in the sinister, wicked voice scared the teenager even more. "I don't want your money, and I'm not worried about anyone finding out. I just want you."

"You want to have sex with me?" Haku breathed in disbelief. "That's what this is about? You did all this just for that?" Orochimaru just stared at him for a moment with narrowed eyes before sitting on the edge of the bed.

"A beautiful face, but such a small, limited mind. I am a collector, and you are my latest treasure."

"I'm not a treasure, I'm a human being." He felt hopeless tears well up in his eyes , unable to stop himself. "I don't want to be here."

Orochimaru sighed. "I had a feeling you might react this way. Such a sensitive nature. I'll leave you to let this information absorb." At the end of his sentence, the large door to the bedroom creaked open, revealing to Haku a petite, silver-haired boy whose androgyny was even at a fair level with Haku's. His feminine features were made even more so with the addition of teal-colored lipstick and nail polish, which Haku could only see present on his toes. His hands were hidden behind him, apparently holding something. He stood silently, waiting for Orochimaru to address him, but it was obvious his energy was bubbling to the brim.

"Sakon, impeccable timing as always." He began, the excitable and irrational twin showing a glint of pride in his eye. "I'd like you to stay with Haku, he's a little upset. Answer his questions and concerns, and please. . . Be accomodating. As I said, he's a bit troubled." Orochimaru captured the silver-haired teen's lips swiftly before exiting the room, the heavy door sliding closed behind him.

Haku watched with extreme trepidation as the boy, who looked to be about his age, walked slowly to the large bed, stopping only to snap on a lamp on the bedside table with one hand, giving the room a flush of welcome light.

"Hm." Sakon mused, eyeing the quivering brunette thoroughly. "Like he said, you _are _quite pretty. Younger than I expected, though. Fifteen?" He guessed, scooting himself onto the bed, sitting directly in front of Haku.

"Seventeen." He corrected morosely, subtly pulling his body as far away as possible.

"You don't have to be afraid of me." He explained, smiling a little. "I wouldn't hurt you. I'm the one who took care of you in the first place."

"You did this?" Haku questioned, hanging his head foreard, letting his hair slip down around his shoulders and over his face.

"Well, I mean I cleaned you up and all. Here, I brought you some clothes." He said, finally holding his hands out from behind his back, revealing a few articles of clothing.

"Thank you!" Haku said sincerely, taking the clothes from him, clutching them to his chest. He blushed, biting his lower lip, looking away.

"What, you don't want to get dressed in front of me? Pretty dumb, considering I bathed you. But, whatever." Sakon rolled his eyes, turning around as expected. Teasing the brunette seemed much more fun, but he supposed that wasn't part of what Orochimaru had commanded him to do, 'accomodate' him. He waited until he heard the rustling stop, then turned back around to see the slender boy dressed in simple black shorts and a beige top, similar to what he and his twin brother often wore. After all, they _were _his clothes the boy was borrowing.

"Those are mine. They're a tiny bit big on you, sorry, but you're skinny as a rail." Sakon commented, tilting his head. Haku frowned, but didn't comment.

"I really appreciate it. . . Sakon, is it?"

"Mhm." The boy grinned wickedly, giving him a salacious wink. "Anyway, do you know where you are?"

"Not at all." Haku admitted, rubbing his arms lightly. "I don't want to be here."

"What?" Sakon arched a brow. "Why not?"

Haku stared at him incredulously for several seconds. "Orochimaru. . . He wants to have sex with me."

"Yeah, so? He's pretty good, you'll like it. He's not too rough or anything. Well, you know, most of the time."

"No, I won't!" Haku snapped, feeling his eyes sting with hot tears again. "I only want Zabuza."

"Zabuza, huh?" Sakon eyed him critically once again, but shrugged. "I wouldn't dwell on anything from your past. Once you're in here, you're not coming back out. Orochimaru had his eye on you, and he takes what he wants. My twin brother and I, and our friend Kabuto, and now you. We're his. . . Attendants."

"Attendants?"

"Yeah, as in we 'attend' to whatever he needs or wants."

"But, that isn't how it's supposed to be! Don't you want someone to love you?"

"He loves us." Sakon argued, flipping his hair back in a move that reminded Haku of Deidara, which only made him more miserable. What if he never saw Kisa or Deidara ever again? "Just not in that romantic, useless way."

"Romance isn't useless! He doesn't love you if he wants to be with other people, too. Being in love means you only want one for the rest of your life. That's what I have." Haku insisted, tears slipping down and plopping from his chin to the bedspread. Sakon frowned again, seemingly deep in thought, clicking his tongue.

"Ehh." He sighed, stretching. "You're a crybaby. My brother would be way better at making you feel better. I hope he comes soon, he was wanting to see you anyway."

Haku pulled his knees up to his chest in anguish, nuzzling his face in them. The last time he had seen Zabuza. . . He had gotten shot. What if he was. . . _No, _Haku's mind screamed at him. _He can't be dead. He's gotten shot before, right? This is like nothing for him._

But nothing he thought or said could change the fact that Zabuza had left a bloody handprint on the edge of the desk, the brightness like a neon beacon to Haku's eyes.

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It was pitch black, though the darkness and pain was dreamy and distant, like he was floating on a red ocean, the waves seeming to cover him and weigh him down so he was trapped away from light and air. Zabuza's subconscious self tried to wriggle under it, or rise above it, but he couldn't escape the dull, smothering ache. He found he could accept that, in the way that he had accepted his mother's loathing for him, but he simply could not accept the silence and darkness that surrounded him.

Struggling vainly to move, he realized bitterly that he couldn't feel his body, not his arms or legs, and tried to call out to someone. In his mind he screamed and raged and bellowed, but no sound came from his limp mouth.

He knew he was hurt, was all too aware what had happened and that he was in terrible agonizing pain, both physical and emotional. But this did not seem to matter to his cold, unmoving body. _Maybe I'm already dead, _he thought, his emotional torture quickly turning into rage and frustration. But his body might has well have been frozen solid for all the good it did him.

Early the next morning, his subconscious was seething in rage again. He willed himself every ounce of strength he had ever possesed, and chanelled every fiber of strength into his eyelids, lifting them slowly. His eyes focused on a feminine face, a woman with long honey-colored locks pulled back in a professional bun.

"Oh!" The nurse gasped, surprised. "Mr. Momochi!"

He tried to answer, but only a nearly inaudible whining sound came out. He wanted to speak, to tell the woman that he was grateful not to be alone, not to be dead, but it was too late. Before he could even process that his eyes were open, and were attempting to send the images to his brain, he was out again.

They said he wouldn't die. He drifted in and out during the next 24 hours, agitation and adrenaline fighting off the heavy sedatives the nurses constantly pumped into his bloodstream. One of the nurses noticed the old scar tissues resembling needle-marks in his body, and determined he had a huge immunity to drugs. Another said she could feel the energy pumping off him in waves each time he surfaced from his coma-like state. Something bad had happened to him, and he was still stuck in that time. Or at least, his hormone levels were.

Finally, on the third morning, when his onyx eyes opened, they stayed open. Panic filled his lungs like scalding-hot smoke, nearly choking him. When the blurriness of his sight lifted slightly, and he saw he was in a hospital bed, he calmed a little.

The same pretty nurse stood by his bed, holding his wrist lightly, her face full of concern. "So, you're finally awake this time." She whispered, smiling sweetly. "You're very reillient, Mr. Momochi. I've never seen such injuries take such a meaningless toll on a human body. It barely fazed you."

"Right." Zabuza answered with extreme difficulty. "How long?" The thin whisper managed to creak out between stone-dry lips.

"How long have you been here?" She picked up a clipboard with several papers clipped to it, flipping through them impatiently. "Well, you were admitted on Wednesday evening, and it's Saturday morning, so a little more than 2 days. You're making such a fast recovery, I-" She stopped midsentence, eyes huge and gaping, the words sticking in her throat. "Mr. Momchi, no! Stop that this instant!"

Zabuza had channeled all his strength into his arm this time, flopping it over his body and ripping out the I.V tube that had been pumping medicine into his bloodstream. She snatched a tourniquet off the table, pressing it against his now bleeding wrist. "What are you doing!?" She cried again.

He only stared at her flatly, the words too long and complicated for his exhausted mouth to form. _Sorry lady, but I got places to go. _

"Get me a bag of morphine for this patient!" She cried to someone behind her.

Zabuza's eyes flashed hot, his other hand clamping hard enough on her own wrist to make her hiss with pain. This time the words came easily, fueled by helpless resentment and violent rage. "Put any more sedatives in me, and I'll destroy this entire hospital, with all the patients in it." He let her hand go, her face stunned and full of fear.

"Sir, I can't let you-"

"The love of my life's been kidnapped by the man who put me here." He ground out between his teeth, groaning in pain as his muscles strained to their limit. He sat up slowly, resting the back of his head on his headboard, breathing deeply with his effort.

She stared at him for several seconds, unblinking, before biting her bottom lip. "You're very upset, sir. The medicine we used for you is very strong."

"Shut up." He rasped, using the bedside table as a support as he willed his shaking legs to hold his body weight, allowing him to stand.

At that moment, the door to the room burst open, slamming against the opposite wall, Kisame Hoshigaki rushing in to Zabuza's trembling body. "Zabuza! You're awake, finally!" He didn't comment on the wrist that was still seeping blood, and the fact that he looked half-dead, yet standing. At the bodyguard's confused look, the shark went on. "We've been taking turns in here, waiting for you to wake up. I was just getting a cup of coffee from the cafeteria. Where is Haku!?"  
Zabuza groaned, rubbing his eyes with the palms of his hands. "He took him."

"Who!?" Kisame snarled, gripping the man's shoulders roughly. "The police have been looking for days! There's no trace of him, or anything leading to him! Your boss is in a coma, you're the only one who cant help!"

"Orochimaru." He inhaled deeply, shaking the fatigue off. His body was already beginning to get accustomed to being alive and awake again.

"Fuck!" The shark snapped, eyes widening when Zabuza's body swayed a little. He hooked an arm around his younger brother's lover, helping to support him.

"Why are you helping me? I failed to protect your brother." He grated out, baring his teeth, his eyes haunted with the shame and heart-wrenching failure.

"You nearly died for him." Kisame said quietly, knowing exactly how Zabuza felt. "Nobody blames you, Zabuza. But don't think once we find him safe and sound, I'm not kicking your ass." He said amicably enough, but the glint in his eye was unmistakable.

"I thought you didn't blame me." Zabuza retorted.

"Not for this. Deidara told me everything. . . About you two."

"Everything?" He asked carefully, feeling Kisame's arm around tighten like a vise designed to break his ribs.

"Everything." The shark said dangerously. Then his eyes softened. "Including the fact that Haku is head-over-heels in love with you, and that you would do anything to make him happy. I. . . I'm still pissed at you. But, I do know what it's like to fall in love with someone so quickly. So, when we _do _save Haku," (Because this event, in Kisame's mind, was an inevitability. He simply couldn't consider the fact that they may not be able to save his beautiful brunette brother) "You have my blessing. But the ass-kicking's going to come when you least expect it."

Zabuza closed his eyes for a moment, imagining a world where he could be open about he and Haku's relationship, feeling the pain in his body dissolve a little more clearly. "I never meant to betray your family's trust, Kisame. But I love him more than I thought I could love anything. I would give my life to keep him from feeling an ounce of sadness."

"Well, here's your chance. We have to find him."

Zabuza nodded resolutely, standing on his own this time, giving the nurse a bland look before exiting the room, much to her astonishment and dismay.

After they rode the elevator down to the bottom floor, Deidara, with panic and fear evident in his dazzling azure eyes, ran to them, stopping them in their tracks.

"I called the police, they're on their way to get your statement and description of who did this." He explained quickly, rubbing his damp palms on the knees of his tight jeans. He caught Zabuza's eye, and flushed. "I'm sorry, Zabuza, I. . . He forced me to tell him!" He cried, pointing accusingly at the shark. "And I thought it might help, I don't know. . ." He trailed off miserably, shaking his head. "Please forgive me." He whispered.

"I can't stay mad at my future brother-in-law. But rest assured, when Kisame kicks _my _ass, I'm coming to you."

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

**Like I said, short. But effective, no? **

**Anyway, like I said, I also wanted to just kind of gauge you guys' reactions on my new fic, the first chapter to be released soon. I typed out the summary on my profile, under "Coming soon" ~ Read it, and let me know what you think, if you will read it, if you're excited for it, suggestions for the plot, etc. **


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